Song Fics of Jackie and Hyde
by Miss Lavender Sky
Summary: A compilation of many Jackie-Hyde song-fics, all unrelated. Reposted from a lot of individual song-fics to one big story full of them. :D
1. Fences

**Disclaimer: I don't own That 70's Show, its characters, Paramore, or its songs and lyrics.**

**A/N: This is after Sam. Fez and Jackie aren't together. It matches up with the song "Fences" by Paramore. Um, please review, because I like it. Love you guys!**

"_Don't look up, just let them think there's no place else you'd rather be._

_You're always on display for everyone to watch and learn from._

_Don't you know by now? _

_You can't turn back, 'cause this road is all you'll ever have._

_It's obvious that you're dying, dying._

_Just living proof that the camera's lying. _

_And oh-oh-open wide, 'cause this is your night. _

_So smile, 'cause you'll go out in style._

_You'll go out in style."_

_-Paramore, "Fences"_

_"Really, Jackie?" Donna asked. She looked wary of her friend. "Isn't that a year from…?"_

_Chicago. That was what she was going to say. A year from Chicago._

_"Oh, Donna, don't be silly, _that_ doesn't matter anymore," Jackie said with her old sense of assuredness, waving off the idea with her hand. "I just want a party to celebrate everyone being back together again!"_

_Eric was back from Africa, Michael and Brooke were coming down with Betsey, and everyone would be together again. That was the perfect excuse for a party, right?_

_Donna still looked unsure. "I don't know, Jackie, I just think it'd be kind of difficult, that's all."_

_"Because of me?" said Jackie. "I'll be fine, honestly, Donna. I'm really glad that you're looking out for me, but I'm fine. Really." Jackie knew how much her friends had been discussing her these past few months, but she couldn't take it anymore. Maybe they were right, but she couldn't let them know that. She had to show them she was fine, even if she wasn't._

_Donna sighed. "Fine," she consented. "You can have your party."_

_Jackie smiled, and Donna joined her._

_"A party?" asked Hyde._

_"Yep," said Eric. "Friday night?"_

_Hyde nodded, grunting a response._

_Eric said nothing. He knew what Hyde was thinking. He wasn't sentimental on the outside, but Eric knew that Hyde was remembering what had happened a year from Friday. He knew how much his friend had been suffering, ever since Sam came. And, for once, he wished Hyde would be with Jackie, because that's what seemed to make the two of them happy._

_"And, um, who's throwing the party?" he asked._

_"Jackie," replied Eric. He'd been surprised, like Donna, and nervous. She hadn't been the only one to see what Jackie was going through. All of them saw it, except maybe Hyde. Eric sometimes thought he was so busy trying not to look at his ex so much that he missed the obvious things about her that had changed._

_She didn't do much now. She worked constantly, never having a moment to spare, taking on extra hours, and hardly going out anymore. She hardly slept, Donna had told him, and she'd sometimes forget to eat for a day._

_And she cried. Donna had told him that during the first few months, she cried nonstop, even though she tried not to let anyone see it._

_Now, she hardly cried. Or showed any emotion, whatsoever. It was like the months that followed Sam showing up had dried her of any emotion she had left. She was like Hyde when he was trying to be Zen. Only she didn't choose this. This was just how she was now, all of the time._

_He sat there, looking at Hyde, who was showing no emotion._

_It was like living with two zombies._

_And Eric was scared for both of them. He saw how dangerously close they were, and he was constantly on the lookout for the thing that would push them over the edge._

_Michael and Brooke showed up on Thursday afternoon, Betsey cradled in Brooke's arms._

_They stayed and chatted for a while, before getting settled in upstairs- they were staying in Laurie's old room for this trip._

_It was late at night when Hyde heard the door open. He didn't look up._

_"Hey, man." It was Kelso._

_Hyde nodded a reply._

_Kelso sat down. He seemed uncomfortable, which was out of place, for him. He usually was comfortable in any situation, even if it made other people feel the opposite._

_Kelso sat there for a moment, trying to figure out how to get the words out. Finally, he just let them come. "Hey, Hyde, have you seen Jackie lately?" he asked._

_Hyde gave him an annoyed look. "Yes," he said. "It's not like she never comes here."_

_"No, I mean have you gotten a good look at her lately?" he persisted._

_"Unlike you, Kelso, I try not to 'get a good look' at my exes," Hyde stated._

_Kelso's eyes narrowed a bit. "Honestly, man, take a look around you. If you look at her, then you'll see that there's something up."_

_Hyde finally turned to look at him, surprised to see the concern in his friend's eyes. "What do you mean?"_

_"I mean, she looks like she's about to snap, man. She doesn't smile, she doesn't laugh, not really, and she's gotten way skinnier- I haven't seen her eat all day. And Donna says she doesn't sleep, all she does is work, and she doesn't _do_ anything anymore. She's- she's not Jackie," he finished. "I've only been here four hours, and I can see that, and Brooke can too."_

_Hyde stiffened. No, he hadn't seen these things. Okay, maybe he had, but he was trying so hard to block all things about her that he'd managed to block that too. Now that Kelso was saying it, Hyde saw it all in his mind's eye. Kelso was right. She didn't eat, didn't sleep, didn't laugh, didn't smile, didn't go out, didn't do anything._

_And it all came down to him. Because it was his fault._

_"I think she's gonna snap soon," said Kelso. "She looks like she can only take a few more days. You gotta talk to her, man."_

_Hyde nodded lamely. That was all he could do._

_He watched for her at the Forman's house. It wasn't like her to be like this. It was her party, she would've been here first._

_Getting worried, he walked up to Donna. "Where is she?" he demanded._

_It had been weeks since he'd even mentioned Jackie, but Donna knew exactly who he meant. "She'll be down in a few minutes. Don't worry, I just checked on her."_

_Hyde hated the way she said that, like Jackie was a girl that needed checking up on. Like she was that small and helpless._

_But maybe she was. Thanks to him._

_He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her walking down the stairs. She looked absolutely radiant. She was wearing a bright green dress, which made her eyes sparkle so much it made him dizzy. Her hair was perfectly curled, her make-up perfectly applied. Hyde was having trouble not walking straight up to her and kissing her._

_But underneath it all, he still saw what his friends had been saying to him. He saw how skinny she was, how the make-up couldn't quite cover the dark circles under her eyes, how her smile didn't really reach her eyes._

_It was all an act._

_He had to fix that. Kelso had convinced him, with his little speech, and he was going to change everything tonight._

_He waited a little while, wanting to have the perfect moment. He finally came up with the idea of finding her at midnight. She would like the fairy-tale-ness of that._

_So he waited, passing the time with everyone, waiting for midnight to come._

_Right before midnight, he got caught up holding Betsey while Brooke went to go stop Kelso from burning down the Forman's kitchen. By the time she came back, it was five minutes after midnight._

_"Mrs. Forman," he asked as the woman passed by him. "Where's Jackie go?"_

_"She just went back to Donna's to go get something, dear," she told him, before walking off again with Red._

_Hyde nodded. He could wait. He would wait._

_It was twelve thirty, and still no sign of Jackie. He walked to Donna's house, and called for her inside. No answer._

_He walked around, searching every corner of the house for her. No Jackie._

_Suddenly something caught his eye. It was a tiny book, poking out from underneath her sheet. He pulled it out. It was her diary. He flipped to the last page she'd written in._

Dear Diary,

I've finally decided. I'm leaving. Donna is so good, and she's been looking out for me. But I can't stand it anymore. I'm sick of being the one that everyone worries about. So I just won't be around anymore.

I'm leaving at midnight. Just like the story. I'll even be wearing a pretty dress. I don't know where I'm going. But he won't be there, and I won't be stuck bothering him, or anyone else, anymore.

Maybe I'll come back for you. Maybe I won't. I don't know yet.

But I have to go.

Hyde just stared at the page, amazed that it had taken him until last night to see how everything went so wrong for her. And how wrong her life was. And she was leaving.

_Because of him. He didn't know if she was running away for him, or running away from him, but he had to go find her._

_The pang in his heart when he read that line still hurt. 'I won't be stuck bothering him anymore.'_

_She never bothered him. She was perfect for him. And he needed her._

_He raced out the door, and to his car, parked right outside the Forman's house._

_He didn't know where he was going, but she couldn't be terribly far, so he'd find her. He _had_ to find her._

_Kelso had been right. She had been close to snapping. She'd just snapped, trying to sever all ties with them forever- especially him. That thought killed him every time it went through his mind._

_He was just driving, thinking of anyplace that she might be. A shadow flickered over his windshield. The water tower._

_He stopped, got out of the car, and climbed the ladder up to the top of the water tower. He looked around. No Jackie._

_He sighed, closing his eyes, and slumped against the metal frame, punching the railing with his fist. It hurt. But not as much as the thought of losing her._

_He opened his eyes, and scanned the distance, looking for places she might be._

_A sparkle caught his eye. He looked towards it. It was the lake. Even in the dark, he could still see a shadow in the water._

_He practically flew down the ladder, jumping down on the last five rungs. He raced to the water, ignoring the icy feeling in his lungs._

_When he got there, he saw her floating, face-up. She looked so peaceful there, so beautiful, so still and serene._

_He breathed another sigh of relief when he saw that she was breathing._

_He immediately jumped into the frigid water, and swam over to where she was, pulling her body close to his. She didn't open her eyes, or hardly move at all._

_He pulled her out onto the grass by the lake, wondering why she wouldn't move. He glanced at the lake. There were small bits of ice appearing on the surface of the water. He shivered._

_It was too cold for her, especially in the condition she was in._

_He looked at her dress, and saw the tiny ice particles on the edges. She was going to freeze to death._

_He picked her up, and raced her back to his car. He carefully took off her dress, dropping the frigid, soaking thing to the ground, and covering her with a blanket from his trunk. He sat in her in the passenger seat, piling up blankets on her._

_Thank goodness he had Forman had gone camping a few nights ago- they still had extra blankets and sleeping bags in the car._

_He buckled the seat belt over her and the many blankets, and got in on the other side. He raced to the hospital, carrying her in._

_She was accepted immediately, and all Hyde could think as he watched them wheel her away was that she would like it, this beautiful, tragic story-tale ending._

_Jackie blinked. "Steven?" she asked._

_He smiled. She was awake. Awake and alive. "Jackie."_

_"You're here," she said. She seemed to take in her surroundings. "Where is here?"_

_"You're in the hospital," he replied._

_"Why?" she asked._

_"You were in the lake, and you nearly froze to death," he said._

_She nodded. "Oh, yeah, I remember now. It was after the party, and the lake was very, very cold." She frowned. "Why were you there?"_

_"Because I came to find you," he said. "Jackie, I miss you. And I love you."_

_She said nothing._

_"Jackie, I'm sorry."_

_She nodded. "I'm sorry too," she replied, leaning up to give him a kiss._

_Hyde smiled as he kissed her. "Does this mean we can be us again?" he asked._

_Jackie smiled. "Please?"_

_The two of them grinned, the first time either of them had really, truly smiled in months now, ever since Chicago._

_"Steven?" Jackie asked, as he was holding her._

_"Mmm?"_

_"Did you get the dress from the lake?" she asked, her voice concerned._

_He laughed. He had his old Jackie back._

**A/N: So, what did you think? I like the whole fairy-tale aspect, and that seemed very Jackie-like. It was a bit dramatic, but still. I really like writing Jackie/Hyde stuff with Paramore songs. I feel like it really works together. I have two more coming, so please review!**


	2. CrushCrushCrush

**Disclaimer: I don't own That 70's Show, or its characters, or Paramore, or any of Paramore's songs or lyrics. Darn.**

**A/N: This is based off of Paramore's song, "CrushCrushCrush." This is set before Jackie and Hyde get together. Please review! I love hearing from you!**

"_I got a lot to say to you. Yeah, I got a lot to say._

_It seems like your eyes are always glued to me, keeping them here, and it makes no sense at all. _

_They taped over your mouth, scribbled out the truth with their lies, your little spies. They taped over your mouth, scribbled out the truth with their lies, your little spies._

_Crush. Crush. Crush. Crush. Crush._

_Nothing compares to a quiet evening alone. Just the one to, I was just counting on, that never happened, I guess I'm dreaming again._

_Let's be more than this."_

_-Paramore, "CrushCrushCrush"_

_Jackie's POV-_

_She sat back looking at him. Every time she did so, she noticed his eyes darted to the TV screen. He had been looking at her. Again._

_He'd been doing that more and more often now. Looking at her. If it had been anyone else, she would've known why. She knew why people looked at her. But not him. He had never looked at her this way, and now he was doing it all of the time._

_He despised her, he loathed her. And yet he stared. She didn't understand it._

_She wondered why he did. Did he like her? No. If he liked her, he would've said something. That was how he was. That was how he'd been with Donna. He'd liked her, and he let her know it, even if she rejected him._

_Maybe that was it. Maybe he liked her, but he didn't want her to reject him. That was reasonable._

_But the thing was, the more Jackie glanced over at him, the more she realized she wouldn't reject him. She was starting to like him._

_Not starting. She _was_ liking him._

_And if he was liking her back, why wouldn't he say anything?_

_She thought to her friends' reactions. How would they take it? Not well._

_They'd characterized her as the prissy snob. She wasn't all of the time, just some of the time. But they'd made her out to be one _all of the time_. And Steven was the lazy, smart-aleck, tough guy. He wasn't always, but they made him out to be._

_Her friends made it so that they would never seem right together._

_Was that why they weren't together? Because their friends had made them seem like they couldn't ever be._

_Her lips set into a determined line. Well, it wasn't up to them anymore._

_Here they were, alone. And she liked him. It was up to her now._

_Steven's POV-_

_He glanced at her, but quickly looked back at the TV when she caught him. This wasn't like him. He wasn't used to this._

_He didn't like the fact that he couldn't stop looking at her, that he couldn't stop thinking about her. He was being strangely obsessive, a characteristic that up until now he never thought he possessed._

_But it was there, and it made his brain full of her, every day._

_He wanted to talk to her. She always liked talking, he knew it wouldn't be hard to get her talking- so why couldn't he speak?_

_He wanted to, to say something that would make her eyes light up again, like they did when she was excited about something. He wanted to say so many things, but all he could think about was the fact that she kept looking back at him._

_He wasn't the only one. She was glancing at him too, every couple of minutes or so. So what did that mean?_

_She was a snob, the devil as Eric had always said. She was supposed to be with someone like Kelso, someone that she made sense with. Not him._

_Why wasn't she supposed to be with him? Because she was pretty and bossy and shrill and he was him. Eric thought she was the devil, too, which was not something he usually looked for in a girl. And even Donna thought her best friend was spoiled. Fez liked her, but he knew she was high-matinence. Kelso had dated her for long enough, but Kelso had also seemed miserable with her._

_But was that why he couldn't like her? Because of what Eric had said? Or Donna? Or Fez? Or Kelso?_

_Because his friends had told him all of the reasons, spelled out in black and white. They shouldn't date._

_Well, what did they matter when it came to him and Jackie? He liked her, and he was starting to think that she liked him too._

_In that case, they were here, together, and nothing mattered anymore but her._

_He leaned over to kiss her, surprised to find her already leaning forward to kiss him._

_They smiled at each other and kissed._


	3. Angel

A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [Sarah McLachlan], or That 70's Show, or any of its characters. This song totally makes me melt, by the way. If you have not heard it, PLEASE go look it up. You'll love it too. Angel

"_Spend all your time waiting, for that second chance,_

_For a break that will make it okay._

_There's always some reason to feel not good enough._

_And it's hard at the end of the day._

_I need some distraction, oh, beautiful release_

_Memories seep from my veins_

_Let me be empty oh and weightless, and maybe I'll find some peace tonight,_

_In the arms of the angel, fly away from here._

_From this dark, cold hotel room and the endlessness that you fear._

_You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie._

_You're in the arms of the angel, may you find some comfort here._

_So tired of the straight-line, and everywhere you turn,_

_There's vultures and thieves at your back_

_Stone keeps on twisting, keep on the building the lights_

_That you make up for all that you lack_

_It don't make no difference, escaping one last time_

_It's easier to believe in this sweet madness,_

_Oh, this glorious sadness, it brings me to my knees._

_In the arms of the angel, fly away from here._

_From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear._

_You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie._

_You're in the arms of the angel, may you find some comfort here._

_You're in the arms of the angel, may you find some comfort here."_

_-"Angel," Sarah McLachlan_

_Hyde slumped to the ground, alone. He was always alone. His parents, gone, Jackie, gone, Sam, gone, now, his friends, too, were leaving him._

_He was the one stuck here, in this stupid little town, with the memory of the greatest thing he'd ever known walking around in front of him. He had to live life watching her, and knowing that she was there, and he was there, and that was just the way it was from now on. It was unbearable._

_Of all things that could have happened, it was the one thing he could've guessed, but the one thing he had always feared the most: loneliness._

_He could've gone out and gotten another girlfriend, he knew, it wouldn't have been that hard for him. But there would never be another Jackie walking around, waiting for him, doing all the things she did, making him as happy as he had been._

_So, he waited. He waited for Jackie to be ready, ready for him again._

_Everyday he walked by her apartment, and then walked away. Everyday he had something to say to her, and then he bit his tounge. Everyday he wanted to get her back, and then he let her go._

_As he sat there now, on the bed of the hotel room he'd been staying at for a few days, because the Forman's were gone, and the basement was being redone, he saw everything flash before him._

_He smirked. If it had been back then, they would have loved the idea of the Forman's being gone for the weekend, because it meant a whole weekend of just them. But now she hardly wanted five minutes of just the two of them together, anymore, even in a group. She didn't like him anymore, didn't need him, didn't want him._

_As his thoughts whipped around his head, whirling into madness that consumed him, the storm outside began to brew._

_The rain and the wind, twirling together- completely different, fighting all of the time, but completely perfect for each other- left Jackie's face floating in front of him._

_He missed her so much._

_In one moment, he heard the snapping of a tree branch outside, and looked back at Jackie's beautiful, smiling visage one last time. He heard the tree hit the roof above him, and watched as the heavens fell around him._

_It was such a happy dream. They were there together again, and she was smiling up at him like he was the most wonderful person in the world. But that was wrong, he knew, because she was the most wonderful person in the world to him._

_He sat there, stroking her hair, as she hummed one of her silly disco songs, and the sun was rising around them, leaving the sky an ever-changing shade of blue._

_He was happy here, wherever here was._

_"Steven!" the voice was interrupting his dreams. "Steven!"_

_"Sh," he tried to tell the voice. He was happy in his dream, happy for once, and he wanted to stay there._

_"_Steven_!" the voice was insistant, and it was crying. "Steven, wake up, please, baby, for me. Wake up."_

_The voice was crying, it wanted him to wake up. He didn't want to, though._

_"Steven, baby, wake up, come back." The words melded with tears. The voice had such a sadness in them, such misery, that he wanted to go comfort that person._

_"Sh," he whispered faintly, trying to comfort the sad voice. He felt uncomfortable shaking as the person with the voice sobbed._

_"Steven," the voice was telling him. "Please don't leave me, baby. Please come back." The voice was so familiar, so very familiar, but he couldn't tell. He wanted to know, wanted to open his eyes and find out, but at the same time, he wanted to go back to Jackie and the sunrise. His eyes fluttered as he was caught in between the two._

_"Please don't leave me again, baby, I need you," the voice whispered. And he felt like he needed the voice too. He didn't know why, but he desperately wanted to know who it was._

_"Baby, baby, please. It's Jackie. Please open your eyes!" she whispered, as another sob escaped._

_Jackie. It was Jackie. Jackie needed him, wanted him, didn't want him to leave. He didn't care if she meant them being together again, or him just not dying right now. But that didn't matter anymore, because she was there, calling his name. If only she would say…_

_"I love you, Steven, wake up for me, please."_

_He didn't have to pick between his dream-Jackie and the voice anymore, because the voice was Jackie, and that was his dream._

_He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw were her beautiful, tearstained eyes. She was gorgeous, even crying as much as she was. Maybe that was what made it all better. She was crying, but she was crying for him. She loved him._

_His lips upturned, and she smiled, laughing shakily as she was recovering from her sobs. "Baby," she whispered. "You're alive."_

_He nodded ever so slightly. "For you," he whispered back. He looked around him, noticing that everywhere was an absolute mess. Wood littered the ground, and everything around him was ruined._

_Except for her. Here he was, lying in an angel's arms, in the middle of the wreck the storm had caused._

_"Are you alright, baby?" Jackie asked. Her voice was so unsure, but her eyes borderlined between sadness and joy._

_"Why did you come back?" he asked. He was curious. Why would this angel come back for him before she went to heaven?_

_She smiled her sad little smile. "Because you're my angel, and I didn't want you to leave for heaven without me," she whispered, kissing his forehead. "I love you."_

"I love you too," he whispered back, leaning forward to kiss her back, through the pain. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt. But he had the feeling that nothing could hurt anymore, not while he lay here, in the angel's arms.

_RECOMMENDATIONS: __sweetsouthernjerseygal, sometimestheycallmejackie, jackiehyde4eva, Hyde's Bride, aprilsdiamond, jam21, and luvcali76. DUDE. CHECK THESE PEOPLE OUT. THEY ROCK AND ROLL, MAN!_


	4. Fall For You

Fall For You A/N: I don't own the song or lyrics Secondhand Serenade, or That 70's Show or any of its characters.Fall For You

"_The best thing about tonight is we're not fighting._

_It couldn't be that we have been this way before._

_I know you don't think that I am trying._

_I know you're wearing thin down to the core._

_But hold your breath._

_Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you over again._

_Don't make me change my mind._

_Or I won't live to see another day, I swear it's true._

_Because a girl like you is impossible to find,_

_You're impossible to find."_

_-"Fall For You," Secondhand Serenade_

_They sat there, on opposite sides of the rooms, in silence. The ringing silence was what he wanted. It was better than what was usually heard._

_They would always be yelling at each other constantly. Ever since she had started getting serious with Kelso, they had fought. They had become enemies._

_It wasn't that they had known each other much before. It was just he saw her, and she saw him. They both acknowledged each other as good-looking, cool people, in very different ways._

_Then, for the first time, he saw her in a different light. Kelso had asked her to the Winter Dance, and she showed up there, looking like she did, and he realized that he was falling for her. Hard._

_He drove himself crazy after that, seeing her at school, or, if Forman had somehow managed to drag him to some school event, or Kelso dragged him to a football game so he could make out with the cheerleaders, and, for some reason, he relented, he would see her there. Her smile was infectious, her laugh was contagious, and thoughts of her relentlessly plagued his mind._

_He waited for the best moment, when maybe it would seem right to go up and talk to her, but Kelso swooped in first._

_"Hey, guess what, man?" said Kelso, coming into the basement one day Sophmore year._

_"What?" Hyde asked, only half-interested._

_"I finally got that cheerleader to go out with me," he said excitedly, a dopey grin on his face._

_"Which one?" asked Hyde. He was mistaken- he'd thought Kelso had managed to make out with all of them at least twice already._

_"Jackie Burkhart."_

_Hyde stiffened slightly, nothing Kelso's low radar for people's reactions would be able to pick up. "Oh. Hey, that's cool, man."_

_When they met the next day, everything changed._

_She was Kelso's girl now, which meant that she was completely off limits, and was a complete waste of her time. He convinced himself that she was stupid and not that attractive. Or, at least, he tried._

_To her, he was now her boyfriend's best friend, the biggest off-limit's of them all. He was lazy, uncaring, and unproductive. That's what she told herself._

_And they had to reassure themselves, and others, that they felt nothing for each other. So they fought. Constantly._

_Well, now she was no longer Kelso's girl. Now Kelso had left, gone away to California._

_Now he was no longer her boyfriend's best friend. He was her ex's best friend._

_And that changed everything._

_For the first time in ages, Hyde could look at her- really look at her- and finally admit to himself that she was none of the things he'd spent the last two years convincing himself she was. She was outgoing, and charming, and silly, and romantic, and beautiful. And he felt himself falling again._

_But this time it was okay._

"_This was not what I intended._

_I always swore to you I'd never fall apart._

_You always thought that I was stronger._

_I may have failed, but I have loved you from the start._

_Oh, but hold your breath. _

_Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you, over again._

_Don't make me change my mind._

_Or I won't live to see another day, I swear it's true._

_Because a girl like you's impossible to find, it's impossible._

_So breathe in so deep, breathe me in,_

_And promise to keep- hold on do you worst._

'_Cause talk is cheap._

_And remember me tonight when you're asleep."_

_-"Fall For You," Secondhand Serenade_

_Hyde stared at her, his hands slightly shaking with the anger of it all. Which was dangerous, because he was in a tree._

_He had gotten the idea from Eric, who he had known to often climb the tree that was directly next to the window in Donna's bedroom._

_He sat there now, watching Jackie as she lay there, sobbing._

_Donna had gracefully stayed out late tonight, knowing when to help Jackie and when to give her space. She knew the stages, she knew Jackie was grieving, and for right now, Donna could tell Jackie wanted to be alone._

_Why? He asked himself over and over again: why? This wasn't supposed to happen. He never meant for this to happen. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He never meant for it to be like this._

_Sam had shown up, and he'd all but broken down at the thought of not having Jackie anymore, but this girl that he knew nothing about. He couldn't show it- he could never show it. Her presence never allowed him to show when he felt the breakdown near. She saw him as a pillar of strength, her pillar of strength, and her safe place. To break down would make things worse than ever._

_She didn't understand, he knew. Sam had left, and nothing had changed between them. They remained in the same hurtful, destructive anti-relationship state._

_But he couldn't stand it. Why? Why wouldn't she come to him?_

_He couldn't go to her, he just couldn't. How would that look? He'd left her, married someone else, gotten left, and come back? No._

_He didn't deserve her, he was nothing compared to her, he told himself, no matter how many times he'd her say otherwise. He had failed her, breaking it off before he ever managed to become the man she wanted him to be._

_But he loved her. From the very first day, he realized. Ever since he saw her in that beautiful dress, at the Winter Dance, all those years ago, dancing in Kelso's arms, he loved her. And he loved her still._

_He wanted her to confront him, to say everything she'd been keeping in for the past year. Every hateful word and thought- he wanted her to say it._

_He wanted to feel her pain, and then hold her and say it would be okay._

_He watched her as she stood up, walked stiffly to the dresser, and took a tissue. There would be no more crying tonight, he could tell by her determined walk, and the set of her eyes, or anymore ever again._

_She was amazing, and he felt himself falling for her again, deeper and deeper._

"_Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you, over again._

_Don't make me change my mind._

_Or I won't live to see another day, I swear it's true._

_Because a girl like you is impossible to find._

_Tonight will be the night that I will fall for you over again._

_Don't make me change my mind._

_Or I won't live to see another day, I swear it's true._

_Because a girl like you is impossible to find._

_You're impossible to find."_

_-"Fall For You," Secondhand Serenade_

_Jackie stormed into the room. "Steven!" it was a cross between a cry and a shout and a shriek all at once, and it made him jump about a foot and a half._

_"Jackie?"_

_"Steven, what's going on?" she demanded._

_"Hmm?" His tone was completely confused._

_"Sam's gone, you're here, I'm here, and I've waited, Steven. I've waited." Her voice choked a bit. "And you haven't come, and I've waited," she whispered._

_"I-" He looked away. "I didn't know how."_

_She paused. "So, you meant to come back?" she asked._

_He turned towards her again, looking at her straight-on. "I always meant to come back," he said. "I always _have_ to come back."_

_She grinned. "Do you mean it, Steven? Is it really time for us to be us again?"_

_He nodded. "Jackie," he said. "From the minute I saw you, I've been waiting for it to be us."_

_He saw tears form in her eyes, and once again, she was crying over him, but it was out of love and joy, and he knew it, and he couldn't think of any sight he wanted to see more. She threw her arms around him, and he held her as they kissed._

_He felt himself falling for her once again, and he knew now that he would never stop, and he would always be falling for you, over and over again, deeper and deeper._

_RECOMMENDATIONS: sweetsouthernjerseygal, sometimestheycallmejackie, jackiehyde4eva, Hyde's Bride, aprilsdiamond, jam21, and luvcali76. DUDE. CHECK THESE PEOPLE OUT. THEY ROCK AND ROLL, MAN!_


	5. Human

A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [The Killers], or That 70's Show, or any of its characters.

Just to be clear, this song has to do with how Hyde feels after he relents, and he decides to ask Jackie to marry him. Please read and review! Ooh, and a big thanks to jaciehyde4eva for being super-supportive. You rock! :D

Human

"_I did my best to notice when the call came down the line. _

_Up to the platform of surrender._

_I was brought, but I was kind._

_And sometimes I get nervous when I see an open door._

_Close your eyes, clear your heart, cut the cord._

_Are we human or are we dancers?_

_My sign is vital, my hands are cold._

_And I'm on my knees looking for the answer._

_Are we human or are we dancers? _

_Pay my respect to grace and virtue._

_Send my condolences to good._

_Give my regards to soul and romance,_

_They always did the best they could._

_And so long to devotion, you taught me everything I know._

_Wave goodbye, wish me well._

_You've got to let me go._

_Are we human or are we dancers?_

_My sign is vital, my hands are cold._

_And I'm on my knees, looking for the answer._

_Are we human or are we dancers?_

_Will your system be alright when you dream of home tonight?_

_There is no message we're receiving, let me know is your heart still beating._

_Are we human or are we dancers?_

_My sign is vital my hands are cold._

_And I'm on my knees, looking for the answer._

_You've got to let me know, are we human or are we dancers?_

_My sign is vital, my hands are cold. _

_And I'm on my knees, looking for the answer. _

_Are we human, or are we dancers?"_

_-"Human," The Killers_

_Hyde looked around him as he walked along the empty street. Today was the end of life as he knew it. Everything had come down to this moment, the moment that he feared the most. He had given up, let the enemy win, something he had promised would never come to be. But it was true. She had won._

_Everywhere around him, he thought he saw people watching him. From every open window and door was someone who was watching him, it seemed._

_But she had won this time. So he tried dropping the emotions he felt sirling around his chest right now. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, letting go of all the anxieties he had at that moment._

_He wondered vaguely how it all worked. How was he supposed to think for himself if she ultimately was what caused all of his actions? It was like he was her little doll, or dress-up dancer to play with._

_He couldn't figure it out. How was he supposed to make his own decisions when love stood in his way?_

_Finally, he just took another deep breath, and washed all of the insecurities out of himself. The old Hyde was leaving now, to be replaced with the one that she deserved, that she wanted, that he knew he could be if he tried._

_Everything, though, that had gotten him this far, this close to Jackie, deserved a special send off. Grace and virtue were the first two that popped into his head. He knew that they were the moments that he knew he'd been blessed with whenever he saw her walking towards him. That was his grace and virtue._

_Good. Soul. Romance. Hyde smirked. All very Jackie-like things. And he'd used them all to make her happy. And it had been worth it._

_But if everything went well, he had to get rid of these factors for the moment, as they added to his insecurities about his plan._

_He felt like a man going to die, but knowing that he was going to heaven. He knew that relenting and giving her what she wanted would be the death of him, but being with her forever would be his own personal heaven._

_He asked her. The world stopped._

_He could not get her to respond. She stopped moving, stopped talking, stopped breathing even. She was hardly alive at the moment. All of her dreams and hopes and wishes had come up to this moment, and she took full advantage of them, knowing how hard it had been for Hyde, how much he'd had to let go before he came here and asked her._

_But she felt the warmth inside of her, overflowing._

_"Yes, Steven!" she exclaimed. "I will marry you!"_

_In that moment, he knew that everything he'd done for her, everything he'd given up, and how scary it was being this new person, the one that she needed to have, the one that he needed to be._

_It was worth it, this pleasure of being together, because, after all, they were only human._

_RECOMMENDATIONS: sweetsouthernjerseygal, sometimestheycallmejackie, jackiehyde4eva, Hyde's Bride, aprilsdiamond, jam21, and luvcali76. DUDE. CHECK THESE PEOPLE OUT. THEY ROCK AND ROLL, MAN!_


	6. I'll Stand By You

**A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [The Pretenders] or That 70's Show or the characters.**

_**I love this song, and it makes me think of the two of them (like most songs). Lol. Please read, review, and tell me what you think. Love you guys! :D**_

**I'll Stand By You**

"_Oh, why you look so sad?_

_The tears are in your eyes, come on and come to me now._

_And don't be ashamed to cry._

_Let me see you through, 'cause I've seen the dark side too._

_When the night falls on you, you don't know what to do._

_Nothing you confess could make me love you less._

_I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you._

_Won't let nobody hurt you._

_I'll stand by you._

_And so, if you're mad, get mad._

_Don't hold it all inside, come on, and talk to me now._

_And hey, what you got to hide?_

_I get angry too, but I'm a lot like you._

_When you're standing at the crossroads, don't know which path to choose._

_Let me come along, 'cause even if you're wrong,_

_I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you._

_Won't let nobody hurt you._

_I'll stand by you._

_Take me in into your darkest hour, and I'll never desert you._

_I'll stand by you._

_And when, when the night falls on you, baby,_

_You'll feel it all alone, you won't be on your own._

_I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you._

_Won't let nobody hurt you._

_I'll stand by you._

_Take me in into your darkest hour and I'll never desert you._

_I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you._

_Won't let nobody hurt you._

_I'll stand by you.'_

_-"I'll Stand By You," The Pretenders_

_Hyde looked at the floor of the basement. Things had started out terrible, and gone downhill from there._

_Leo had disappeared again, gone to who knew where. His father- not WB- was back in town, asking for money, trying to get him to come back with him. His mother had sent a letter, distressed and, again, asking for money. Forman was leaving. Kelso and Fez were gone. Donna was a mess because Forman was leaving. And things just couldn't leave him alone anymore._

_"Steven?" the voice was timid and she, but he would've known it from a mile away._

_"Jackie?"_

_"Are you okay?" she asked. "I heard about everything that's going on, and, oh, it's so terrible, and I was just wondering, well, I was wondering if you needed someone to talk to?"_

_He smiled at her. It had been one year since the last time they had a civil conversation with each other, and yet she had found the courage to come find him and talk to him in his time of need. It had been a year of anger and burns, but she had found it in her heart to forgive him when he needed that most of all. She had grown up in every way possible, and yet he had failed to notice it all._

_She sat with him for hours, talking, letting him get out everything that he wanted to, allowing him to say everything in what he knew would be strict confidentiality- even if it was Jackie- and put in her own advice and words of comfort here and there._

_It was exactly what he needed._

_"Come on, Jackie, I'll drive you home," he said. "I know you walked here."_

_They got into the car, and started driving. It wasn't long before Hyde saw another car along the road, driving at a dangerous pace._

_He cursed and swerved as the car veered towards them, but it didn't leave them with enough time to get out of the way. Instead, it left Jackie with more of the blow than him._

_"Jackie! Jackie!" he called, when the deafening sound of the crash had ended, though it still rang in his ears. "Jackie, are you alright?"_

_There were tears in her eyes, and her face was pinched and pale. "Yeah," she whispered. "I'll be fine, don't worry."_

_"No, Jackie, it's your arm. And your side. Geez, you're like half squished into the side of the car!" he shouted upon realization._

_"Steven, it'll be fine. I'll be okay, so long as I can get out," she added, giggling a little, then wincing when she realized this added to the pain._

_"That's it, I'm calling an ambulance!" he said._

_Hours later, Jackie pretended to be asleep. It was rude of her to pretend, but she loved that when he thought she was asleep, Hyde would come into the hospital room and hold her hand._

_The door opened and shut quietly. It was Eric. "Hyde, man, what the heck were you doing, driving Jackie around like that?" he demanded._

_"Man, she needed a ride home, and I gave it to her. How was I supposed to know that-" His grip on her hand tightened._

_"Donna and I were going to come pick her up in a half and hour, and we get there, and all I hear is my mother crying about you two being in a car accident!" Eric's whisper was tense._

_"Well, I offered her a ride home, and she accepted. It's not like I ever wanted _this_ to happen," he said._

_"If she knew we were giving her a ride home, why would she take you up on your offer?" Eric demanded._

_"Maybe it's because all the rest of you ever do is baby her and treat her like she's two!" Hyde whispered back fiercely._

_Eric's voice hardened. "Maybe we're extra-careful around her, because you can't seem to handle treating her like a human being for three seconds!"_

_Jackie felt a pull on her hand as Hyde winced. "That's not true."_

_"Yes, it is, man, don't deny it. If you'd maybe be half as decent as she's bee to you, nothing like this would've ever happened!" Eric said._

_Jackie wondered what Eric meant-how could Hyde have _caused_ the wreck? But she realized that was how it was. When there was something wrong, you found the appointed bad guy, the person to blame, even if they didn't deserve it. That was her Steven._

_"Think about it, man. And think about treating her with some respect. With all she's done for you, I think she deserves at least that," said Eric, before leaving the room._

_Hyde's grip on her hand got tighter. She opened one eye, and she saw his head was buried in his other hand. He wasn't crying, but he wasn't not crying either._

_"Hey, baby," she whispered, taking his face in her open hand._

_He looked up, his face pained, and his eyes hurt. "Jackie, I'm sorry," he said._

_"Steven, it's okay. Really," she said, kindness evident in her face._

_"No, it's not, because Forman was right, I've been a jerk, and it's been terrible and horrible and wrong, and maybe if I hadn't been, this whole night wouldn't have happened," he said._

_"Steven, don't be ridiculous. None of this is your fault," she said, motioning to the hospital room around them. "And I'll be fine in a few days, and out of here. Steven, it's okay. Don't let them think this is your fault. Because it's not," she said. "Steven, it'll be okay."_

_"Jackie, I-" He didn't finish talking, just simply sat up and kissed her forehead lightly._

_"It's okay, Steven," she whispered, yawning. "I'll stand by you," she added, finally falling asleep, as the rhythm of his thumb rubbing her hand finally made her fall asleep peacefully, for the first time in a year, because it was the first time she knew that things between the two of them would turn out right in the end._


	7. Sweet and Low

A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [Augustana], or That 70's Show, or any of its characters **,A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [Augustana], or That 70's Show, or any of its characters. Please review! This is one of myfavorite songs, and it makes me think of them. Lots of love, you guys! :D** "Anywhere you go, and anyone you meet.

_Remember that your eyes can be your enemy._

_I said hell is so close and heaven's out of reach._

_But I ain't given up quite yet,_

_I've got too much to lose._

_Hold me down, sweet and low, little girl_

_Hold me down, sweet and low, and I will carry you home._

_Hold me down, sweet and low, little girl._

_Hold me down and I'll carry you home._

_Rain is gonnna fall, sun is gonna shine_

_Wind is gonna blow, water's gonna rise._

_She said when the day comes, look into my eyes._

_No one's giving up quite yet, we've got too much to lose_

_Hold me down sweet and low, little girl_

_Hold me down, sweet and low, and I will carry you home._

_Hold me down, sweet and low, little girl_

_Hold me down, and I'll carry you all the way_

_And you'll say you'll find, but you're still young and out of line._

_And all I need is to turn around to make it last, to make it count._

_Gonna make the same mistakes that put my mama in her grave._

_I don't wanna be alone._

_Hold me down, sweet and low, little girl._

_Hold me down, sweet and low, and I will carry you home._

_Hold me down, sweet and low, little girl._

_Hold me down, and I'll carry you home."_

_-"Sweet and Low," Augustana_

_Hyde had asked her to come, as a huge, huge favor. He had half-expected her to outright refuse, but her determination and her loyalty to him had overridden her fears._

_Normally, he wouldn't have had her come within fifty yards of this place. Not after what had happened last time._

_The last time his record company job had had him come here, a couple of the head associates and him had a little bit of a run-in. Seeing as how they tried to hit on Jackie. And then hit her when she said no._

_With anything else, he would have taken his dad's orders with a grain of salt, and behaved himself around these men. But they were playing dirty, messing with Jackie, so he fought back dirty._

_Even still, she hated coming here. She was scared of it now, afraid of what had happened last time. After he had finally coaxed it out of her, he was furious._

_While he was interviewing someone at a table, she waited for him at the bar, ordering herself just a small glass of soda._

_Two guys had come up in front of her and had started chatting with her, and, being Jackie, she believed they had just wanted to honestly chat with her._

_They had cornered her at the back of the room, and were pushing her through a hallway, closing the door behind them. The door was closed, and they were the only three in the hallway. She had been terrified. One of them was kissing her, and the other was whispering horrible things to her, and she was fighting them, but there were two of them, and they were strong._

_Suddenly, the door burst open, and he was there, his face red with anger. "What do you think you're doing?" His voice boomed and echoed throughout the hallway._

_"Hey, man, we were just having a little fun," said one of the guys._

_"Look at her," Hyde said. "Does she look like she's having fun? First off, no guy should _ever_ mess with a girl like that, especially when she doesn't want it, especially two to one, you cowards." Then the look on his face turned downright hateful. "And you _never_ fool around with my girlfriend."_

_They had scampered away, and Jackie had come running to Hyde, her head buried in his chest, crying. "Shh," he soothed her. "It'll be okay," he said. "They're gone now. It'll be okay."_

_And since then, she'd always wanted him at her side, everywhere. Not that he minded much._

_Now he was at his meeting, and he was worried for her. She was in the other room, and she had promised that she wouldn't drink anything, so she would stay totally alert while alone._

_But he was still nervous, and he rushed through the meeting, racing back to her side the moment he could._

_She seemed okay, and she was there, but when she turned her face to him, her eyes were wide and scared._

_"Jackie, what? What is it?" he asked._

_"They came back, Steven," she said. "And I stayed here, and I wouldn't go with them, but I stayed here and waited…for you."_

_He looked at her, at this girl who had done so much for him, who had been there through so much, who would sacrifice everything for him, he knew._

_She had come back when it terrified her most, stayed and put her faith in him, trusted in him that it would be okay._

_And it was._

_He was filled with such a rush of emotion, with so much love for her, that he could hardly stand it. "You wanna go home?" he asked gently. It was late, and she looked exhausted, having worked overtime the past three days to make-up for missing work today to come be with him._

_She nodded, yawning. "Yeah, I just-aw!" she yawned again, making him laugh._

_But she was so tired and exhausted, that he cradled her in his arms. "I'll carry you home, Jackie," he said softly, smiling._

_"Steven, don't be silly," she yawned. "It's only three blocks until we get home. I'll just-" Yawn. "I'll."_

_He picked her up and held her, kissing her forehead softly. "Love you, Jacks," he whispered._

_"Love you too," she whispered._

_He smiled. He loved her, this little girl of his, the one he was carrying home._


	8. Wonderful Tonight

A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [Eric Clapton, at least in the version I've been listening to] or That 70's Show, or it's characters.

_**Surprise! It's a Jackie and Hyde song fic! Lol. I love this song. It's a older song, but it's terribly sweet. I love it. Thank you guys so much for reading! :D**_

Wonderful Tonight

"_It's late in the evening, she's wondering what clothes to wear._

_She puts on her make-up, and brushes her long blonde hair._

_And then she asks me, Do I look alright?_

_And I said, Yes, you look wonderful tonight._

_We go to a party, and everyone turns to see_

_This beautiful lady who's walking around with me._

_And then she asks me, Do you feel alright?_

_And I said, Yes, I feel wonderful tonight._

_I feel wonderful, because I see the love right in your eyes._

_And no wonder, I belong._

_And you just don't realize how much I love you._

_It's time to go home now, and I've got an aching head._

_So I give her the car keys, and she helps me to bed._

_And then I tell her, as I turn out the light,_

_I said, My Darling, You are wonderful tonight._

_Oh, my Darling, you are wonderful tonight."_

_-"Wonderful Tonight," Eric Clapton_

_"Jackie, do we really have to go to this party?" Hyde complained, tugging at his tie._

_"Yes, Steven. This is the first party with my father out of jail, and my mother back home," Jackie said. "You do want to make a good impression tonight, don't you?"_

_"Actually, no," said Hyde._

_Jackie turned to him, pouting, her eyes looking hurt. "Steven," she whined._

_"I'm sorry, Jackie," Hyde said. "But I just don't care what they say!" he said. "No matter what, it's going to be that I'm not good enough, and that I'm too poor for you, and that's not exactly what I want to hear all night."_

_"Steven, you know that's not true, no matter what they say," she said. "I only care about you, and if they say things like that, I just won't listen to them. The only thing that I care about is that you come with me and meet them, officially."_

_Hyde sighed. "Fine, Jackie. Just- hurry up, and get ready."_

_Jackie grinned. "Thanks, Sweetie," she said, kissing him on the cheek, and rushing off to her large, walk-in closet while he stayed in her room, looking at all the various pictures and things she had put on her desk. "And stop playing with your tie!" she chided._

_He looked at all of the pictures- there was Forman, and Donna, and Fez, and Kelso, and Leo, and the Formans, Bob, her parents, and him. There was a lot of him, a lot of him and her. He smiled at all of the memories that these pictures held, of all the memories they shared._

_He had been there for ages, it seemed, going in and out of the closet, mumbling to herself. It was something that he loved about her, this little perfectionist streak when it came to her clothes, how she would walking around, talking to no one directly, just to herself. It made him laugh. "Jackie, hurry up!" he said, but he was smiling as he said it, already knowing she wouldn't take it seriously._

_"Steven, the perfect outfit isn't going to just pick out itself, you know!" came the reply from within the depths of her closet._

_He chuckled._

_An hour later, with the dress all picked out, and the matching shoes picked out, she sat down at the chair beside her mirror and began to brush her hair. It was something he loved watching her do. She was so child-like when she was brushing her hair. He could hear her count the strokes in her head, just like her mother had told her to do when she was four or five. She was a little girl again, his little girl._

_When she was finally ready to go, she turned to him, and the sight of her made him catch his breath._

_"How do I look? Do I look alright?" she asked._

_He smiled at her. "You look wonderful tonight," he replied. If only she knew how wonderful._

_Hyde looked around him, at the childhood home that Jackie had grown up in. It was all done up and decorated, much like Jackie had kept it, but without her perfect sense of style, as she was prone to say. The thought made him smirk._

_Everyone looked at them as they walked through the foyer and into the main room. It was as if the room held a collective gasp as the daughter of Jack and Pam Burkhart walked into the room, looking like something out of a fairytale, her green dress making her eyes sparkle, and her dark hair all done up._

_He saw that throughout the room, girls' eyes held a mix of jealousy and awe, and the guys' had a smile on their face that made him put his arm around her protectively. This was _his_ girl, however he managed that, and he wouldn't have it any other way._

_Though the whole room stared at the girl, the little princess whose arm had woven its way through his, she did not seem to notice. She only had eyes for him._

_After meeting with her parents for a few minutes- Hyde doing the best he could to remember all of the manners Mrs. Forman had taught him- they walked off to dance. With the way she looked tonight, he couldn't say no to her request of dancing._

_They danced together, with her in his arms, and he knew that nothing could ever go wrong again. Not with her in his life._

_A while later, she let him go sit down with Kelso and Forman and Fez, and they sat there drinking- Coca Cola, because the girls had forbade them from drinking anything beyond that- and watching their girls, Kelso eyeing Brooke, Fez watching Laurie, and Hyde staring at Jackie as the three of them made their way through the crowds._

_Spotting him watching her from across the room, Jackie headed towards him. "Do you feel alright, baby?" she asked, slipping her hand into his._

_He smiled up at her, this angel that had somehow been sent into his life. "I feel wonderful tonight," he said, squeezing her hand. "Thanks."_

_Her face softened. "Thank you so much for coming, baby, I promise it'll only be a little while longer, and then we can go home."_

_Somewhere during the night- he lost track, so intent was he on watching her all night- he started to feel sick. He had a fever now, and a massive headache. But he refused to mention it to Jackie. This was her night, and he wouldn't make her leave._

_Thankfully, she came soon enough. "Come on, baby, let's go home now." She gave him a stern look. "Steven, are you feeling okay?" she asked, concerned._

_"Naw, I'm okay," he said._

_She reached up and felt his forehead, making him wince at her ice-cold hand. "Oh, Steven, you're burning up," she said. "Come on, let's get you home right away. Give me your keys, I'm driving."_

_"But, Jackie-"_

_"No, Steven, give me the keys. I'll even let you play whatever music you want when we drive," she offered, knowing that he wouldn't refuse. She always played _her_ music when she drove, so she knew this was a treat for him._

_"Fine," he mumbled, a slight smile creeping on his face despite him having to hand over his keys. "Let's go."_

_She drove him home, helped him into bed, and made him confortable._

_"Steven?" she asked. "If you want, I can stay out here in the living room tonight, to make sure you're alright?"_

_He smiled at her. "You're wonderful tonight, you know that, Jackie?" he said._

_She smiled back. "Yeah, well, you're wonderful too, Steven." She walked over and kissed him on the forehead. "Love you, Steven."_

_"Love you too, Jackie," he whispered back, kissing her._

He leaned over and turned off the light, watching her until he did so, so that she would be the last thing he saw before he fell asleep.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed that. Please tell me what you think. Reviews are so happy-making. And if you have any suggestions for stories, I'd like to hear about them. Thank you so much for reading, you guys! Peace! :D**


	9. Born For This

A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [Paramore], or That 70's Show, or any of its characters. Born For This

"_Oh no, I just keep on falling (back to the same old)._

_And where's hope, when misery comes crawling? (Oh, away, hey.)_

_With your faith, you'll trigger a landslide,_

_To kill off this common sense of mine._

_It takes acquired minds to taste, to taste, to taste this wine._

_You can't doubt it with your eyes._

_So, we don't need the headlines. We don't want your headlines._

_We just want- We want the airwaves back, we want the airwaves back._

_Everybody sing, like it's the song you will ever sing._

_Tell me, tell me do you feel the pressure now?_

_Everybody live, like it's the last day you will ever see._

_Tell me, tell me do you feel the pressure now?"_

_-"Born For This," Paramore_

_Jackie looked at the calendar, ready to see what she had in store for herself today. November 2__nd__. November 2__nd__, why did that ring a bell?_

_She blinked. Oh. That was a year from the day when she and Steven had broken up. That was why she remembered it. Because it was the day that had set off this last year into what it was._

_Depressing and unproductive._

_Really? It had been a whole year of pining after him, of wanting him, and praying that he would come back to her._

_She had _wasted_ a whole year of her life on a wish that would never come true._

_She thought about it. Why was she supposed to go through this? How was she supposed to deal with this properly? How _did_ one deal with this properly?_

_She sat there for a few minutes before coming to the conclusion she stuck with._

_Everyone had something in life they were set to endure. This was her struggle, the thing that she had to overcome. She was born to live through this, and prove to someone- someone, somewhere- that it was possible, that you could overcome this._

_Someone, somewhere was struggling through the same thing, and her endurance would help that someone, wherever they were. Somehow, it would._

_She was born for this._

_She moved._

_New York was a successful city, a place to get her start, a place that she could help influence someone if they saw her as she was now: successful and strong and independent._

_She learned, somewhere along the line, to live every day to the fullest, as it was so often said, to live every day like it was her last day. She realized that she should've started this long ago. If she had known this long ago, she would have told Steven so, so much more. Everything that she needed to tell him._

_But her time with him had come and gone, and she had moved to New York to help people who needed her._

_She worked at a magazine company, in the fashion department, usually in photography. She had gotten really got at photography, with a little help from some of her coworkers, and she was always helping out backstage on the shoots._

_She learned how to be hard-working, organized, helpful, nice, and friendly._

_She was relied upon by many at the studio. She helped many people with their various problems, and she acted as their unofficial psychiatrist._

_This, she decided, was what she was meant to do. She was meant to get past her experience with Steven, and work towards what she wanted, and set an example for every girl who'd ever been hurt by her boyfriend, and didn't know how to get back on their feet, and every guy who'd been crushed by his girlfriend, and didn't know what to do anymore. She was there for them._

_She knew, eventually, that she would have to go back, and face Steven Hyde, and all of the memories that he possessed of hers._

_She would see him, and if she behaved right, if she didn't cry, or get confused, or get upset or angry, then she would be successful. She would've accomplished her goal. Stay strong, she told herself._

_One day, she would have to go back and see if she had really accomplished what she was born to do._

_"Jackie! We need you down at the set right away, please!" someone barked into her phone. It was Greg. Greg was great, but he barked when he got stressed._

_She grabbed her purse and coat, and rushed down to the set- an old record store down the street._

_She managed to scamper down the street gracefully in her heels and dress. She walked in, carrying coffee for everyone in the room._

_"Here you go," she said, handing one of the models a drink. "I didn't know what you wanted. But you seemed like a coffee and sugar and cream kind of girl to me."_

_The model beamed. "Oh, you're so sweet, thank you!" she squealed with delight. She turned away, and went back to hair and make-up._

_Jackie was making sure the make-up artist was doing the correct finishing touches on the model, who was slurping her coffee while giggling, when she heard her name being called from behind her._

_"Jackie?"_

_Jackie turned around, her eyes getting wide. "Steven? Wh-What are you doing here?" she asked._

"_Alright, so you think you're ready?_

_Okay, then you say this with me, go:_

_We were born for this,_

_We were born for this."_

_-"Born For This," Paramore_

_Jackie took in a calming breath. This was it. This was her test. She had to prove to herself, and everyone else like her, that she could remain strong and independent when Steven walked back into her life._

_"Um, my dad owns this place," he said, motioning to the store around them. "And he said some magazine was shooting here, and he wanted me to come down here, and kind of make sure everything was going okay. Supervise, pretty much," he added, smiling at finding the right word._

_She nodded. "Oh, that's cool. Yeah, we're shooting a segment on our models' favorite places, and Emma here is a kind of rock and roll girl," she said._

_Emma giggled at Steven's reaction. "It's okay," she laughed. "I know, I really don't look like the type, but I do like it. That and disco too," she added, giving Jackie a wink, who laughed as well._

_Steven smiled, pleased to see how Jackie was doing. Her life seemed perfect, everyone seemed to love her, and she seemed so sure, so confident. It was what he always wanted for her._

_"You wanna hang out for a while?" asked Jackie. "You can come backstage with me." She laughed at his expression. "It's not boring, honest."_

_That made him laugh too, and he agreed._

_They spent the whole day laughing and talking. Jackie was so proud of herself for keeping herself together the whole time, just as she had hoped. Her confidence seemed to make her able to have a good time in the situation._

_Finally, at the end of the day, Steven pulled her arm, and walked her over to a corner. "Actually, Jackie, when my dad asked me to come down here, the first thing I thought of was you. I was going to come find you, and tell you that I missed you, and I wanted to see you again." He chuckled. "So, um, hopefully that accounts for the flowers sitting in your apartment right now."_

_She laughed, and her face softened, giving him the confidence to finish his speech._

_"And, um, Jackie." He took a deep breath. "Jackie, I miss you, and I want you back." He sucked in his breath._

_She nodded for a few moments, her face blank. Then her face burst into a beatific smile. "Yes, Steven, I missed you too, and I want you back!" she squealed, throwing her arms around him. He picked her up and swung her around, knowing she would like it, and not minding the show of sentiment, because he was so happy._

_"But, Steven?" she asked._

_"Yep?"_

_"Where will we live?" she asked. "I mean, I live in New York now, and I have my job, and my apartment, and…"_

_"We'll live in New York," he said assuredly. "I was given a new job at the record company. I actually have been asked a couple times, but it wasn't until now that I finally accepted. It's sort of like a correspondence thing. I have to find the best up-and-coming bands in New York City and Manhattan." He grinned wickedly. "You up for it?"_

_"Steven," she said happily. "I was born for this," she laughed, kissing him again, and grinning widely._

_RECOMMENDATIONS: sweetsouthernjerseygal, sometimestheycallmejackie, jackiehyde4eva, Hyde's Bride, aprilsdiamond, jam21, and luvcali76. DUDE. CHECK THESE PEOPLE OUT. THEY ROCK AND ROLL, MAN!!!_


	10. Hallelujah

**A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [Paramore], or That 70's Show, or its characters. This is yet ANOTHER of my get Jackie and Hyde back together with their own song. Because that's how I roll. Review? I'll love you forever! :D**"Somehow, everything's gonna fall right into place.

_If we only had a way to make it all fall faster everyday._

_If only time flew like a dove._

_Will God make it fly faster than I'm falling in love._

_This time we're not giving up. Let's make it last forever._

_Screaming Hallelujah._

_We'll make it last forever._

_Holding on to patience wearing thin._

_I can't force these eyes to see the end._

_If only time flew like a dove._

_Well, we can watch it fly and just keep looking up._

_This time we're not giving up. Let's make it last forever._

_Screaming Hallelujah._

_We'll make it last forever._

_And we've got time on our hands. Got nothing but time on our hands._

_Got nothing but, got nothing but,_

_Got nothing but time on our hands._

_This time we're not giving up. Let's make it last forever._

_Screaming Hallelujah._

_Hallelujah._

_Halleljuah."_

_-"Hallelujah," Paramore_

_Hyde pulled out an old photograph, and chuckled to himself. How young they both looked, how carefree, and happy. How clearly unaware of how their lives were about to be flushed down the toilet._

_He hated looking back at old things for a reason, and he was never one to be very sentimental, but he had sat down and felt the need to today._

_It occurred to him, as he woke up this morning, that she was gone, truly gone, from his life, and that her move to New York was absolutely and totally final. She had been gone for almost a year, but reality had only just caught up with him now._

_"My gosh," he muttered softly as he saw the picture of them at her Senior Prom. She was gorgeous. He loved this picture, the way she looked so stunning and amazing, and how he stood there, goggling at her, amazed at this beautiful creature who was his girlfriend._

_If only he could have another chance. He would give anything for another chance._

_There was a knock on the door. Hyde got up off his bed and carefully put away the pictures. No one was to know he still had those out._

_As he walked away, he flipped the switch, and accidentally hit the box containing the photos over and spilled them out onto the ground. Not noticing, he walked out of the room and into the basement._

_He opened the door, expecting to find an in-trouble Kelso, a freezing Fez, or a ticked off Donna._

_Instead he found a very cold, shivering, and sobbing brunette._

_"Jackie?" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"_

_"S-St-Steven," she chattered. "I-I n-n-ee-d t-to t-talk t-to you-oo." She was shivering ferociously._

_"Geez, Jackie, you're frozen!" he said, as he quickly ushered her indoors. "What'd you do, walk here from New York?"_

_"Nope," she said. "Just Kenosha."_

_"Kenosha?!" he shouted. "Jackie! What on earth were you doing walking all the way from Kenosha?!"_

_She was quiet for a moment, snuggling into the blanket he'd fetched for her on the couch. Then she spoke. "My boss is a pig, Steven," she said finally._

_His stomach tightened. "What- What'd he do?"_

_"He tried to hit on me, and he told me the only reason he hired me was because he thought I was pretty, and he said he was in charge, and so I might as well do what he wanted me to do, if he was the one paying me, and he just- he just-" She started to simultaneously cry and hiccup._

_"Jackie, come here, baby," he said consolingly, coming closer to her. "It's okay, baby." He soothed her while rubbing her back. "Did that jerk touch you?" he asked. "Or do anything to you? Because if he did-"_

_"No, he didn't," Jackie said. "I wouldn't let him. I ran all the way home, grabbed all the money I had, and all it was was enough to get me a train ride to Kenosha," she explained._

_He nodded. "I'm still going back to New York and kicking that guy's butt and-"_

_"Steven, calm down," Jackie said soothingly. "It's no big deal." She sighed. "It's just I don't think I want to have that job anymore, so it looks like I'll be back in Point Place for a while."_

_"Back?" he asked, his smile growing broad._

_"Yes, Steven, back, and get that silly smirk off your face. It doesn't mean anything."_

_"Yes, it does, Jackie. It means that we can fix what happened and make things right."_

_"No, it doesn't, because it still doesn't changed all of the messed-up things between us!"_

_"Jackie, I-"_

_"You probably haven't even thought about me once since I moved to New York! You probably just miss having someone to take care of you!"_

_"No, Jackie! I miss having _you_ to take care of me!" he shouted back at her._

_"You know what, Steven? I'll bet you didn't even think about getting back together with me until you saw me walk through that door!" she shouted, traipsing into his room._

_"That's a lie!" he returned, but it fell on deaf ears._

_"Steven," she gasped, picking something off the floor, and showing it to him. It was a handful of the pictures of them he'd been looking at earlier today. They must've fallen._

_"Steven, you really have thought about me," she whispered._

_"Yes," he said, sounding exhausted. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. I'm always thinking about you."_

_She grinned at him, and kissed him, and he was grinning too._

_"Nothing can stop us this time," she whispered. "I don't care. No nurses, no Kelso, no proposals, no Sam. Nothing. I miss you, and now we have everything for us."_

_"Yeah," he said, nodding. "Just you, me, and time."_

_And she knew he was right._


	11. I Bruise Easily

A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [Natasha Beedingfield], or That 70's Show, or any of it's characters. I Bruise Easily

"_My skin is like a map of where my heart has been._

_And I can't hide the marks, but it's not negative thing._

_So I let down my guard, drop my defenses down by my clothes._

_I'm learning to fall with no safety net to cushion the blows._

_I bruise easily, so be gentle when you handle me._

_There's a mark you leave, like a love heart carved on a tree._

_I bruise easily, can't scratch the surface without moving me._

_I bruise easily, I bruise easily."_

_-"I Bruise Easily," Natasha Bedingfield_

_Jackie walked into the basement, her face dark and sad._

_"What's the matter, Jackie?" Hyde asked. "Another one of the clowns mistake you for themselves because of your make-up again?" He laughed at her expense. Even with Sam gone, he still kept up the tradition of bruising Jackie's ego every time he saw her._

_She glanced at him, but didn't say anything. What was the point anymore? He would just come back with something rude, off base, and totally underminded, as usual. He _was_, after all, the King of Burns._

_"Or did the cheerleaders all kick you off the squad again?" he asked. He didn't care to see if she had any reaction. He was too busy trying to find another burn for her. "Was it your height, or was it the fact that you have basically no money left?" He grinned maliciously._

_She studied him for a moment or two. This was wrong, this man standing in front of him. This was not the person she left when she went to Chicago. This was a different person altogether. She wondered why he had done it, decided to make everyday a living nightmare for her._

_"Find another boyfriend that cheated on you?" he asked with mock-sympathy, then burst out laughing. "Find someone else who left you?"_

_Maybe it was just entertaining for him, that was all._

_She walked out of the room, already feeling the hurt, both inside and out._

_Hyde wondered why. _Why?_ It was like he couldn't _not_ let these words come out, the verbal poison he'd gotten around to spewing everyday she was around._

_He could see the hurt in her eyes, the wave of pain that washed over her face at every little sentence he would say. He couldn't remember the last time he had said anything kind to her._

_She didn't deserve it, he knew. If there was anyone to deserve it, it was him. But it was like his mouth and his brain didn't connect. Like someone was controlling what he said, while his brain just sat there, screaming out, "No, no, no!" the whole time._

_He needed to figure out a way to stop._

_When she walked away, it sometimes seemed like everything became a mix. He couldn't remember why he continuously tried to hurt her, but at the same time he did. A little bit of the mentality had seeped into his brain, little by little, and now it was just too hard to stop._

_It was a week later, and Hyde's mind was split. Half of him was glad Jackie hadn't been around, glad not to have been given the chance to hurt her again, as he was so apt to do. The other part was spending all of it's time coming up with burns that would make up for all the time lost._

_The basement door was flung open with such enormous force that Hyde jumped about a foot and a half from his spot on the sofa. "Kelso!" he shouted. "What is your problem, man?"_

_Kelso was livid. "YOU!" he shouted. "You're the problem, you're everyone's problem now!"_

_Hyde hadn't seen his best friend in a month and a half, and this was the getting he got. He quickly became furious. "Did you only come all the way from Chicago to get on my case about something stupid?" he shouted back._

_Kelso's eyes narrowed dangerously. "No! I'm here because Donna called me. Because Jackie's in the hospital, and she's not in good condition."_

_This information made the good part of Hyde's brain freeze. "What?" he asked._

_"Yeah, Jackie's been there for three and a half days now, and Donna found out yesterday, and she called me."_

_Hyde felt his heart drop. "Three and a half days? What? What for?"_

_Kelso stood there and explained. "She's got bruises everywhere. She can't hardly move, and apparently she hasn't been awake for two days, since she passed out from the pain."_

_"What? What the heck does she have bruises everywhere for?" Hyde demanded._

_Kelso became furious. Hyde knew his friend well enough to know that the more serious he got, the more unKelso-like he got, the more livid and dangerous he was._

_"There's a medical condition, apparently," said Kelso. "It's also a mental condition. That's what the doctor said, anyway. Apparently, it's like if she's feeling hurt, she is hurt. When she gets burned on the inside, she gets burned on the outside. The way he explained it was, if you bruise a person's ego hard enough, you bruise them on the outside."_

_Hyde flinched. Bruises and burns. Insults and snide remarks._

_"According to the doctor, she's got about a hundred or so bruises now, and they haven't been going away. They just stay there. That's how he can tell that it's this condition. He says real bruises go away, but these don't. They stay there, and they hurt much more."_

_Hyde just stood there. How could he have not known, how could he have not seen?_

_"And you know what, man?" said Kelso. "She hasn't been awake for two days. They're pumping oxygen, so she can breathe, and stay alive." He looked at his best friend with cold eyes. "Shows how much you can really hurt a person, doesn't it?"_

_"Take me to her," Hyde said, the awful news allowing him to, for once, suppress the malicious side of himself that had taken over for the past few months._

_"Fine," said Kelso. "But if you hurt her again, man, I swear-"_

_"I won't," he said decidedly. "I won't."_

_Kelso had left him alone in the hospital room alone, going instead to talk to Donna, and get an update on Jackie's condition from the doctor. Out of everyone, Kelso was proving to be the responsible one here. He served as her big brother now, wanting to protect her from everyone now, seemingly the most concerned._

_But Hyde knew how concerned he felt. He knew it the whole ride to the hosital, the whole walk up to the room, and then he saw her._

_He flinched again, looking at her._

_She was absolutely covered in bruises, and her breathing was unsteady, shaking and coming out at odd intervals._

_That was him, he had done that._

_He slumped against the wall. This was what it had come down to. This is what he had finally done._

_He stayed like that for a while, slumped up against the wall of the hospital room, listening to the heart monitor go beep. Beep. Beep._

_A doctor eventually came in. He looked at him sternly. "Son, all that sitting there and feeling bad isn't going to do anything for her," he said._

_Hyde nodded. This doctor seemed to know, seemed to know that it was him, that he was the one that had hurt her, that had brought her to this point._

_Hyde could understand the man's aggravated looks as he checked Jackie's vitals. He had sympathy, sure, but not for the man who had brought her here._

_"Go figure out something to do," the doctor said at last, turning to Hyde. "Don't just stand here. She'll never heal if all you do is sit here and feel sorry for yourself." And with that, he left._

_Hyde nodded. He stole one last, quick glance at Jackie and walked out into the other room._

_For the rest of the night, Hyde read. He read about the case, and others like it, and everything that had happened._

_It was depressing._

_Only in a few cases were things actually turning out good. Some were in perpetual comas, some stayed in the hospital for long afterwards. But Jackie's case seemed even more serious than the more severe cases he read about._

_After hours of it all, he decided to do the only thing he could do._

_He marched to her room, not caring that it was three o'clock in the morning, and that he should've been asleep. He couldn't sleep, not anymore._

_He opened the door. She was still there, her breathing coming out at different times, the heart monitor beeping in an unprecise rhythm._

_He walked over to her, and took her hand in his. It felt cold, but he could still feel the mild pulse._

_"Jackie," he whispered. "Jackie, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I never meant- I didn't- It wasn't supposed to be like this. It was never supposed to be like this." He bowed his head, and listened to her breathe as he felt his eyes get watery._

_"Steven?" Her voice was hoarse, but he heard it._

_His head whipped up, making sure it hadn't been his imagination. She was awake, and looking at him, confusion blatantly obvious in her big eyes._

_"Jackie," he sighed in relief and happiness._

_There was silence, and Hyde realized he was probably not the first person she wanted to see right now._

_So he said all he could. "I'm so sorry," he said._

_She nodded. "I know," she said. "It's okay."_

_"No," he said. "No, it's not okay. Because I was terrible to you, and I can't even stand it, and I am so sorry, and I am just, I hate myself for this, I really do."_

_"Sh," she said. "Don't hate yourself. It's okay."_

_Was she crazy? It was _okay_? How could it ever be okay?_

_"It was just closure for you," she said, in a tone that told him she'd been making excuses for his behavior for weeks, months now. "It was just your way of telling me that you were done with me." She smiled. "I wouldn't suggest doing it to anyone else, though, but it's okay."_

_"Jackie, I-"_

_"Steven, I understand, I'll leave you alone now, I get it."_

_"No, Jackie. I can't. Because I'm not done with you. Because I don't have closure. Because I don't want closure. Because I want you." He held in his breath. Why? Why did she have to say that? She would never, never take him back, especially after this mess. He looked away._

_"Really?"_

_"What?" he asked, looking back at her._

_"Really, Steven, are you serious?" Her tone got serious. "Because if this is another burn-"_

_"No," he said. "I'm serious, Jackie. I'm so sorry. I was so horrible because honestly, I was so in love with you, and I just couldn't- I couldn't let you know it."_

_She smiled. "Oh, Steven. I missed you so much," she said, reaching up and kissing him._

_"How can you take me back so fast?" he asked, pulling away quicker than he wanted. "After this?"_

_"Because I love you, Steven, and even this is worth it," she said. "Just to get to you."_

_He grinned, not knowing how life had smiled upon him so many times, and he decided never to turn his back on it again._

_"I'll never hurt you again," he whispered in her ear as he kissed her. "Never, never. I love you, Jackie."_

_"I love you, too, Steven," she said._

_And they kissed, knowing Jackie would finally be able to heal with Hyde standing rightfully at her side._

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	12. It's Not My Time

A/N: I don't own the song or lyrics [3 Doors Down], or That 70's Show, or any of it's characters. It's Not My Time

"_I look ahead to all the plans that we made,_

_Oh, and the dreams we had._

_I'm in a world that tries to take 'em away,_

_Oh, but I'm taking them back._

'_Cause all this time I've been blind to understand what you matter to me._

_My friend, this life, it limits, not what we have._

_It's what we believe._

_And it's not my time._

_I'm not going, there's a fear me._

_It's not showing, but this could be the end of me,_

_And everything I know._

_But it's not my time._

_I'm not going, there's a will in me,_

_And now I know that this could be the end of me, and everything I know._

_Ooh, but I won't go, I won't go."_

_-"It's Not My Time," 3 Doors Down_

_Steven looked around at the basement room he was in. Jackie was gone, but she had left her little touches, here and there. That was her t-shirt, that was her papers that she'd left the one time, that was her pair of sunglasses that she'd purchased last weekend._

_He loved her, even when she wasn't there with him._

_He knew he needed her, and he knew that she needed him. He loved that too. Never before had he needed someone so much, and never before had he felt that someone needed _him_ so much._

_But what to do? He loved the way things were now. They were together, and nothing was stopping them. It was perfect. Nothing could break this little world of theirs, nothing could-_

_"Donna, what are you doing in here?" Steven asked. He disliked his daydream-like thoughts of him and Jackie being interrupted._

_"I have to talk to you," she said. "It's about Jackie."_

_He straightened a little. Donna coming here, no knocking, no waiting, looking this serious, to talk about Jackie probably did not mean good news._

_"What is it?" he asked._

_"It's-" She looked uncomfortable, which was not good. Not sad, thankfully, but uncomfortable. Uncomfortableness was never a good element in a conversation with your girlfriend's best friend about your girlfriend. "Hyde, you realize that you and Jackie have been together a year and a half now, right?"_

_He nodded curtly. He was aware when he and his girlfriend had gotten back together, thanks._

_"And that's _after_ all of that mess with the nurse, and Kelso, and Sam, and Fez." Donna looked like she was getting more uncomfortable, and worse than that, she looked like she was getting scared._

_He nodded._

_"My point is, you two have been together, off and on, for a _long_ time. And Jackie knows this," she said. "And well, more and more, she's been talking about- okay, well, you know what next week is, right?"_

_Steven shook his head. He wished Donna would just get it out already. This wasn't like her._

_"It's her parent's twenty-fifth anniversary," Donna said meekly. "And, well, she keeps going on and on, all of the time, about, well, possibly, maybe-"_

_"What, Donna?" he cut in, his temper and patience growing short._

_"Marriage." Her voice came out like a little squeak, and she closed her eyes tightly for a moment._

_He was silent, taking it in._

_"I wouldn't have brought it up, only she has been mentioning it more and more lately, and she's looking really upset about it, and well, you know what happens when Jackie knows there's no marriage at the end of a relationship, and I just don't want you guys to break up over that, so I just _had_ to say something," she said in a rush._

_Steven nodded._

_Donna got up. "Well, that's all, I guess. Let me know if you need to talk about anything, or if you need help…" her voice trailed off. "Okay, bye, Hyde." She walked out of his room in a quick little scamper, and he heard the basement door close quickly afterwards._

_He let out his breath quickly. Everything, everything he'd thought about lately had been about Jackie- how lucky he was to have her, how much he loved her, how much he knew he'd always need her._

_But this. This was something else. It was something she wanted, so, so badly, and he knew that. And she'd been so good to him, not ever bringing it up anymore, knowing how he felt about it._

_But now he knew how much she secretly pined for it, how much she was desperate to get married._

_He groaned._

_It wasn't supposed to happen like this. It wasn't supposed to happen to him. He wasn't supposed to be married, he wasn't supposed to propose. He just wanted life to stay the same._

_But it wouldn't._

_This whole time, he'd been trying to ignore it, just forget about it, but the point was, Jackie was perfect for him. And he loved her. It had taken him this long to realize exactly how much he loved her. And he knew she was dying to get married._

_So, why was he so scared to propose to the woman he loved?_

_It wasn't him, he decided. It was the people around him. The people who never expected it, never believed it was possible. It was the world that made him feel like it was impossible, wrong, for someone like him to marry someone like her._

_So the world had unofficially taken that away from him over the years. His friends had made him afraid to do it, afraid to be what the world had always told him he never would be._

_So, why? Why did he deserve this beautiful, amazing, gorgeous girlfriend if the world didn't want him to marry her?_

_He decided that it was fine for him to have whatever the world gave him, but the world would decide his feelings for him. The world had decided long ago how he felt._

_Well, it was not time to listen to the world anymore, he decided. He was scared, scared out of his mind, because he was not supposed to turn his back on what the world told him he was to do._

_But his love for Jackie told him what to do now. So, he left for the jewelry store, picking up his coat, making sure he knew what he was getting himself into before he picked out an engagement ring._

_Yes, he decided, he did know, and he had to do it._

_The world had decided on his life, and his actions for much too long now. Before, in everyday of his life, he had learned to just accept what he was supposed to be, and behave accordingly._

_But not anymore. He was done listening to the world. There was always a time in life when you're supposed to listen to what the world tells you, and then there's the time that you learn to get over it._

_So, his final question to himself as he walked out the door: Is it my time to listen to the world?_

_No, he decided. It's not my time._

_It was his time to listen to his heart, however lame that sounded, and he walked to his car, put his foot on the gas pedal, and drove his way towards his life with Jackie as husband and wife._

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	13. Viva La Vida

**A/N: I don't own the song or lyrics [Coldplay], or That 70's Show, and it's characters.**

**Please read and review this one, because it would mean so much to me! Oh, and I take any requests, comments, and questions on stories. Thanks a lot, you guys! Lots of love!**

"I used to rule the world, see it rise when I gave the word. Now in the morning I sleep alone, sweep the streets I used to roam.

_I used to roll the dice. Feel the fear in my enemies eyes. Listen as the crowd would cheer, now the old king is dead, long live the king._

_One minute I held the key, next the walls were closed on me. And I discovered that my castle stands upon pillars of sand, pillars of sand._

…

_For some reason I can't explain, once you've gone it was never, never an honest world. And that was when I ruled the world._

…

_It was awake in a wild wind, blew down the doors to let me in. Shattered windows and the sound of drums. People couldn't believe what I'd become._

…

_Oh, who would ever want to be king?_

…

_Be my mirror, my sword, and shield, my missionary in a foreign field._

_For some reason I can't explain, I know St. Peter won't call my name._

_And in an honest world, but that was when I ruled the world."_

_-"Viva La Vida," Coldplay_

_Hyde looked around at him, at everything that surrounded his life now. It was just him, in his tiny little basement bedroom. That was his life now._

_Sam was gone, but it had little effect on him now. It just gave him more time to think about _her_._

_He needed a distraction. Anything. He started going through his things, ticket stubs, and mementos, and pictures of times past._

_He stopped on a picture of the two of them together, maybe two years ago, from the look of it. She was sitting on his lap, and he was looking at the camera with a slightly annoyed picture- he didn't like having his picture taken- but even he could see, now, how happy he looked. With her._

_He took the picture in his hand, and watched himself be led outside by his own wary feet._

_He looked up. The sky was an early-morning grey, the kind that meant rain would come in a few hours or so. He sighed as he looked around him. There was no one._

_How very much like his own life, he thought bitterly._

_He glanced down at the picture again, the sight making his face crease into a warm smile. Those were the days. He'd give anything to have them back again._

_Two years ago, he'd been with her, and his life had been perfect. Ups and downs, bumps and bruises, but yes, perfect, with her at his side. When he called, she came. When he asked, she answered._

_He was at the top of the world, but only when she sat beside him. That was what kept him there. With her gone, he lost his balance and fell off the top._

_The mornings when he used to see her first thing, as she walked into the basement, made his whole day feel worthwhile. There was so much ahead of him, of them._

_If only they had known what was ahead._

_He would have given anything to erase what he had done, what he was still doing, every time he saw her._

_Tears had never made him stronger, not until he met Jackie. He learned to feel powerful by putting her down, way way back in the beginning._

_But then he learned how much it had really hurt both of them in the long run, how she had harbored all of the insults he'd ever thrown at her, trying to forgive and forget. But tears never made them stronger._

_And here he was, back to the beginning, having forgotten all that, and letting his meaner, crueler side take over._

_He watched with a smirk on his face that he used to mask the pain he felt when he saw the look on her face, the look that _he_ had caused, yet again._

_She was his enemy, that was what he repeated to himself over and over again. After everything that happened, everything she'd put him through, she was his enemy._

_And every time he won a battle in the ever-constant war between them, the others seemed grateful enough. They seemed proud, they liked to see him win._

_But if it was war that mattered, she had won. She had remained polite and civil to him, masking the pain in her face as he did. She didn't hurt him back. She was the peacemaker, the innocent one hurt in his own attack on himself._

_One moment he had her, and the next he was back on the other side, watching her cry, and knowing he'd done it to her._

_With her gone, everything felt wrong. Wither her, it was right, like they'd been like that for a hundred years, and they would be for another hundred. Now it was back to life, and that he hated._

_He had been on top of the world, once, but he had fallen when she had left. Why would anyone want to be on top of the world, he wondered, when the fall back down hurt so much?_

_The wind whipped around him, so hard he felt himself sway as he walked along the streets, and the chill made him shiver uncontrollably. Then the rain started._

_He didn't care. He kept on walking. The rain would come and it would go, just like her. It would start at the top, and fall to the bottom, just like him. It would feel perfect for a while, before it stung and hurt, just like their relationship._

_Why had he even bothered? He had always known it would never work out, she was too good for him, and he had gone through it anyways, determined to prove himself wrong. And everyone else wrong too._

_Well, he had been wrong. They had been right. The thoughts had swirled around his head until they became angry, muddled, and hurtful. Then the thoughts left his mouth and reached her ears in the form of the various burns and insults he'd thrown at her the past few months._

_They had always thought, at the end of it, that he would be just the same old Hyde. But he wasn't. He had become everything that she would have hated. She reminded him everyday of what he couldn't have, and so he reminded her everyday of what she'd never want._

_The wind howled terribly, swirling the ran around him so that he could hear the weather in action. It was surrounding him tighter, until it made him everything he wouldn't be, he couldn't be._

"_Steven!" a voice screeched._

_He looked up suddenly. He was halfway on the ground, being overtaken by the strong winds, and dripping wet from the water around him._

"_Steven!" Jackie called, running out of her apartment, out into the rain. "What are you doing?" She had to yell over the winds._

_He shrugged. "Walking."_

"_Well, get inside, you must be freezing!" she exclaimed, leading him into her apartment. He looked around. He'd never been in her new apartment. It was nice and clean and tidy, but it was all Jackie, all cheery and sweet and girly, with romantic books and movies and magazines everywhere. Yeah, it was definitely Jackie's apartment._

_She bustled around in the hall closet for a while before returning to him, giving him time to look around. She had some pictures up on the wall, and he wondered vaguely if she had kept any of the ones of the two of them, like he had. He looked. It was all pictures of the group, of the Formans, of her parents. He was there, but he couldn't find any with just the two of them together. It made him a little sad, but he didn't much have time to think about it, because she came back into the room._

"_Here you go," she said, handing him a towel and a bundle of clothes. "The clothes are Michael's," she explained. "Whenever he brings Betsey over for a visit, and she's playing with paints…well, Brooke and I have decided it's always best to keep a spare change of clothes for Michael here too." She laughed, but her laugh was a little off._

"_I'll let you go change," she said. "You can use my room, if you want."_

_He nodded, and walked down the hall where she pointed. He walked in, closed the door, and turned around. He looked around, finding what he had wanted._

_Everywhere around him were reminders of them. She had the stuffed animal he had bought her, the various cards she had convinced him to by for her, the Zeppelin shirt he had given to her sitting on her bed, and pictures on her dresser._

_He grinned to himself._

_He walked out of the room, after changing into Kelso's clothes, and saw her in the kitchen, standing over a hot stove._

"_I'm just making some coffee, and some soup for you, so you don't catch a cold or anything from walking out there in the rain, what were you doing out there, by the way?" She was talking a mile a minute, and it made him grin wider._

The way she was standing there, taking care of him, making him food, looking out for him, being there like no one else had, he had the sudden image of her being his wife.

And he liked it.

"Steven, why are you smiling like that?" she asked, smiling herself.

In three short strides, he crossed the kitchen floor, and had her in his arms. "Because I love you and I miss you and I need you," he said. He paused. "I've always been alone," he added. "And then I had you. But until you left, I never really knew what alone meant. Because you have made my life so perfect, and I need you back."

Jackie's eyes welled up with tears. "Oh, Steven," she whispered, and they kissed again, the soup simmering on the stove behind them.


	14. Should've Said No

_A/N: Don't own the song or lyrics [Taylor Swift], or That 70's Show, or any of it's characters._

_Should've Said No-_

"_Strange things, the songs we used to sing._

_The smiles, the flowers, everything is gone._

_Yesterday, I found out about you._

_Even now, just looking at you, feels wrong._

_You say that you'd take it all back,_

_Given one chance,_

_It was a moment of weakness._

_And you'd say yes._

_You should've said no, you should've gone home._

_You should've thought twice before you let it all go._

_You should have known that word of what you did with her'd get back to me._

_And I should've been there, in the back of your mind._

_I shouldn't be asking myself why._

_You shouldn't be askin' for forgiveness at my feet._

_You should've said no, baby, and you might still have me."_

_-"Should've Said No," Taylor Swift_

_"Jackie." Steven was walking toward her, grinning. It wasn't the smirk-like grin she had seen so many times, but the sweet, truly-happy grin she'd only seen when no one else was around._

_"What?" she asked, wary, and rightfully so. It had been months since he'd last spoken to her with any sort of remote kindness. "What is it, Steven?" Either this was a burn, or Steven had finally lost his mind._

_"Sam's gone."_

_Those words brought Jackie's world racing around her, and everything in her mind tumbled. "Wh-What?"_

_"She left this morning," he replied. "She went back to Las Vegas."_

_Jackie just stood there, letting all of his words sink in. Sam was gone. She was back in Las Vegas. And Steven was here, telling _her_. And he seemed _happy_ about it. Why? "So, Steven? What does that mean?" she asked._

_"I've missed you, Jackie," he said, taking a step closer to her. "So, so much."_

_She frowned. "Steven, we can't just go back to the way things were before." As much as she wanted to, she couldn't._

_"Why not, Jackie?" he asked. He seemed angry now. He wanted this to be a happy reunion, hoping that her happiness would relieve him of having to deal with the mistakes he'd made. "What's the big deal?"_

_Her eyes narrowed. "'What's the big deal?' Steven, you cheated on me! You left me _miserable_ for months! How can you say that?"_

_He flinched. The words were fair, and they were true, but oh, how they hurt. How was he supposed to make her understand? He knew one way Jackie'd always said was the best way to get your anger out, and it was something Jackie _did_ love to do. "Then talk, Jackie. Tell me."_

_She looked at him, and opened her mouth, about ready to spurt an insult or two at him before stomping out. But the hopeful look in his eyes, and on his face, stopped her. "Fine, I'll tell you." She took a deep breath. "Steven, I was cheated on by Michael too many times. And I said I wouldn't take back a cheater, I would never, and I told you that. And that nurse! I took you back after that. _I took you back._ I told you, myself, and everyone that I never would again, but I did _for you_. And Las Vegas comes, and Sam comes, and do you know how long it's been since I've smiled, Steven? Because I've had to sit and deal with you and your wife for almost a year. A year, Steven. I haven't smiled in a year. Because I went back on the one thing that I told myself I would never go back on. _For you_. I did the thing I said I would never do again._ For you._ I tormented myself about you and that nurse, every time I thought of you two together, but I stuck through it. _ For you. _I spent a year in misery._ For you. _And you sit here, asking me what the big deal is?" she practically spat out the last words him, she was so furious._

_He sat there, backed up on the couch, meekly, nodding at what she said. He understood._

_"That's what the big deal is, Steven." She sighed, and folded her arms as she slumped into one of the seats. "Can you just leave for right now, please?" she asked. She seemed tired, so tired, and he realized that was because of him, and everything he'd put her through in the last year. It made him feel tired too._

_He nodded. He walked out of the room. He shut the door, and stood there. Finally, he slumped against the door. He heard her crying in the other room._

_He couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't take this pain in his chest anymore, that was eating him alive, he couldn't bear to see the sadness that she dealt with everyday. He couldn't take it anymore. He could only handle the hard stuff if she was by his side._

_He slammed open the door. "No, Jackie," he said. "I can't leave, because I love you. And I can't stop loving you, and I'm sorry for everything, but I need you with me," he said. "I have to have you with me."_

_Jackie, her eyes still wet with tears, just looked up at him, blinking. The confusion in her face went blank for a moment, before she grinned. "Steven, I love you too." She threw herself into his arms, and he grinned that grin again, knowing his arms was where she belonged._

_She pulled away seriously. "Steven, this is serious now. You have to behave yourself this time." She was smiling, but her eyes still carried a hint of sadness._

_"Of course," he replied. He would do anything for her, to make that sadness go away._

He should've said no, but all he could think was how glad he was that she said yes to him.

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	15. The Garden

A/N: I don't own the song, the lyrics [Mirah], or That 70's Show, or any of it's characters.The Garden-

"_Oh, oh. I really wanted that thing. I just want to sing._

_I love you, baby, won't you bring all the flowers you find out in the garden?_

_Don't tell me the truth, that your heart has hardened._

_That you don't want me anymore, how can it be?_

_Look what you've done to me, Oh, oh._

_Oh, oh. The bee does quickly sting._

_I was wondering, if you could maybe, darling, think._

_I'd give everything, if you'd grant my love a pardon._

_And all the fruits, again, would build a garden._

_But you don't want me anymore, how can it be?_

_Look what you've done to me. Oh, oh."_

_-"The Garden," Mirah_

_"Hi, Steven."_

_He sighed. Jackie was sitting there, smiling that stupid smile of hers that she always used now whenever she saw him. He hated it. "Hey," he replied gruffly._

_They sat in silence for a few moments before she turned to him. "So, Steven. It's summertime," she said._

_He nodded. "I know, Jackie," he said. "Most people realize that when it gets hot outside, and people stop going to school, it's summertime."_

_She frowned. The tone of his voice hurt, like he was telling her that she was stupid. Which maybe she was, for even bringing this up. But she couldn't just leave it at "It's summertime." She added, "You remember what happened a couple summers ago, right?"_

_He nodded, making that face he used when talking to Michael- annoyance._

_She wrinkled her nose. The look he gave her should not be the ones that he gave Michael. They'd been through way too much for her to deserve that. "Oh, come on, Steven, you don't even think about that anymore?" she asked._

_He stayed still._

_"You don't even think about us anymore?" she whispered. It had taken her this long to say it, but, well, she wanted to know._

_He finally turned to her. "No, Jackie," he said firmly. "I don't. Because we're over. Because we have been for a long time. Because that's how it is from now on. So, why should it matter anymore?" These words weren't said harshly, but just like he was stating the obvious, which hurt more. If he had said it angrily, it would have meant there was still passion there, which would've meant she still had a chance. Annoyance, and the I'm-talking-to-stupid tone meant that he had known it for such a long time, it was obvious to him, as he thought it should be to her, which clearly meant he was over it, and she had no chance._

_She flinched, and thought about running out of the room. She stopped herself after rising an inch or two in her chair, and sat back down. Was she going to do that? Really? Ask, and if she got the answer, run out?_

_No. She sat back down. She would remain here for another half an hour, or until someone else showed up before she left. She would show that she had backbone. She would show him._

_That was a long half an hour. Thirty two minutes, she waited, so it wouldn't seem too obvious._

_The T.V. was on, so she had pretended to watch it for a half an hour. Finally, when the next show came on, she was able to use the excuse she'd thought of fifteen minutes ago. "Ugh, this episode is lame, I've seen it way too many times," she declared. "Gotta go." She got up, and left, hoping that wasn't too terribly obvious._

_When she got back to her house, she stared at the wall. Well, there went that down the drain. She had worked herself up to this for a _month_, and it came down to her feeling incredibly stupid. Great._

_She sighed. Fine. Well, she was going to-_

_She didn't know what to do._

_She wanted to beg him, to tell him she missed him, to ask him if he remembered how amazing they were as a couple, to say that he was crazy if he thought they didn't belong together._

_But she couldn't. Because the look of annoyance, the look of him explaining something that he seemed to think was the most obvious thing in the world, the look that made her feel as if she asked what her own name was, stopped her every time in her mind. That look made her cringe beyond belief._

_And so, for days, she sat there, thinking these things. And every time she saw him, these thoughts would grow louder, but she couldn't say anything to him._

_Because what would he say? "Sorry, Jackie, I just don't like you anymore." No, that sounded like something Eric would say. Something to let her down easy, and at least _try_ to be nice. No, Steven would be more along the lines of, "Get away from me. Can't you see? I hate you now."_

_Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't stand having it all repeated in her head over and over again anymore, and she needed to ask him._

_They were all alone again._

_"Steven." He didn't look up at her. "Steven." His eyes remained forward. "_Steven_." Still nothing. She grimaced. "Hyde."_

_He looked up, wrinkling his nose. She was never supposed to call him Hyde. It made the world upside-down._

_"Steven, you have to listen to me. I just wanted to say that, for some reason, I still love you. And you need to realize that. Maybe someday I'll get over it. I don't know. But you have said nothing to me. No yes, no no. No I love you, no I hate you. I don't know what to think anymore. I don't know if you still even think about me, I don't know if you still love me, or even like me, or can even stand to be around me anymore."_

_He opened his mouth to say something, but she wasn't finished. "You're so fast to try and hurt me, Steven, but you don't really seem to understand that that doesn't matter to me anymore. Hurt me all you want, Steven- open shot- but just tell me if you like me. Because I've been sitting here this whole time, trying to figure it out, and it's driving me crazy," she finished in a huff._

_He raised his eyebrows. "You finished?" he asked._

_Jackie narrowed her eyes. "Yes," she said, aware she was being made fun of._

_He looked at her. And got stuck for a moment. What was she, crazy? All he had to do was look at her, and realize that he was crazy for ever letting her go. All he had to do was be around her for a minute, and realize that he wanted her back everyday. All he had to do was hear her talk to him, and realize that he missed her. All he had to do was listen to her say his name, and realize that he needed her back._

_"Jackie." He sighed. This would be hard for him to say, even if she had pretty much set up the okay for him to do so. "Jackie, I-I guess it's- I don't. Yes."_

_"Yes, I still like you, I still want you around." He took a breath. "But it's driving me crazy, because I don't know how to handle it, because I know I always mess things up, and maybe we're better off over." He sighed again._

_"I'll never be better off over." She looked up at him with wide, hopeful eyes._

_The silence hung in the air, and he slowly watched as disappointment and sadness chased away the hope in her eyes._

_She pressed her lips together, and nodded. "Okay," she said. "Okay." She turned around to walk away, but he stopped her._

_"Jackie," he said. "I'll never be better off without you either," he said. It was true, but it was hard for him to say, to know that this wasn't one of those Ultimate-Burns that Kelso was always trying to pull off. If it was, he was going to get Kelso so bad, he'd never see it coming._

_But the grin that broke out on her face made him realize that Kelso had nothing to do with this. This was just Jackie, and Jackie wanted romanticism, and that meant that he was supposed to be the one who did everything right, and said the right words._

_"I miss you, baby," he said._

_She smiled, and hugged him. "I missed you too."_

_He grinned too, and kissed her. When they broke apart, his grin of happiness had an added hint of mischief in it. "Hey, Jackie?" he asked._

_"Mmm?"_

_"You wanna go mess with Kelso?" he asked._

_"Why?" she asked, confused._

_"I just was thinking about it a while ago, and I feel like it would be a good back-together thing for us to do," he said. There, that was perfect, he thought. It was romantic, with the whole back-together part, so she would like it, and it had the whole messing-with-Kelso part that he liked._

_She grinned wickedly. "Ooh, that sounds like fun."_

_And that was why she was his girl, he decided quickly._

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	16. Misery Business

Misery Business

"I'm in the business of misery, let's take it from the top.

She's got a body like an hourglass, it's ticking like a clock.

It's a matter of time before we all run out.

When I thought he was mine, she caught him by the mouth.

I waited eight long months, she finally set him free.

I told him I can't lie, he was the only one for me.

Two weeks, we caught on fire, she's got it out for me, but I wear the biggest smile. Whoah, whatever makes you pray, but I've got him where I want him now.

Whoah, it was never my intention to brag, to steal it all away from you now."

_-Paramore, "Misery Business"_

"Jackie, I miss you," said Hyde, looking at her, daring to be just a tiny bit hopeful. Just maybe-

_"Steven, I miss you too!" she sighed, and their faces were just inches away from kissing when all of a sudden-_

_"Hey, honey, I'm home!"_

_They both turned to the basement door, staring at Sam, who had just walked in. She didn't even seem phased by the fact that he had interrupted the two of them._

_Hyde stared at her in amazement, watching as his ex-sort-of-wife walked back into his mess of a life._

_Jackie looked at her and thought of everything she stood for- the hurt, pain, and anguish she had suffered through the past months. They were almost gone, they had been so close, and then they all suddenly came rushing back to her._

_Jackie looked at her. It was just the two of them now. Steven had gone to go get drinks for the three of them, and Jackie, wanting a word with Sam alone, locked the doors so that he couldn't get in._

_"Sam, I need to talk to you," she said at last._

_The woman sitting across from her looked at her, eyes expectant._

_"What are you doing here?" she asked._

_"I'm here for Hyde."_

_Jackie's face hardened. "Well, you know, Sam. I don't think you're going to get him this time."_

_Sam's eyes narrowed. "Oh yeah, what makes you think that?"_

_"Because I won't let you have him. I'm fighting for him."_

_She smirked. "What claim do you have on him? I was his _wife._"_

_Jackie laughed. "You were his wife? No, I thought you were just the girl that came in here and messed things up for all of us. You lied to him, you two were never married, and you left him to go be with your real husband. What makes you think _you_ have any claim over him?"_

_Sam stomped her foot. "A whole lot more than you! He _married_ me. Even if it wasn't real, he agreed to marry _me_. He stayed with me. He chose me over you."_

_Jackie was furious. Everything she'd been thinking this whole time was being said by the girl who'd sent her world crashing around her. "He loves me," she said fiercely. "And I love him."_

_Sam laughed haughtily. "You're too young to know what love is."_

_Jackie's whole face hardened. "I know what it is. It's crying every night for three months after you break up. It's hurting every time you see him. It's feeling your heart break ever time you see him with someone like you."_

_"Well, I'm not leaving. I'm getting him back."_

_"You'll never get him back."_

_Sam flinched at the ice in her voice. "Fine, then. You think he loves you? See if he ever says it to you. See if he ever tells you. Goodness knows, he never said it to me."_

_Jackie looked at her. "That's because he doesn't love you. He loves me. I know he does." Her voice got softer. "But I'm sure your husband loves you, I'll bet. Go back to him."_

_Sam nodded. "I only left because I was missing Hyde. But now, I think I miss my real husband even more."_

_Jackie nodded in return. "Go back to him then."_

_"Okay, I will," said Sam. All of their previous words seemed to hang in the air in front of them. "And, Jackie?"_

_"Hmm?"_

_"Take care of Hyde for me," she said, walking towards the basement door._

_"I will." She watched Sam leave the room. Her words still hung in her head. 'You think he loves you? See if he ever tells you.'_

_Now she truly wondered if he did._

_A few minutes later, she got up and unlocked the door that Steven had gone through to get drinks._

_"Jackie, what happened down there?" he asked, his eyes concerned. He was carrying three sodas._

_"Sam and I talked," she said._

_Hyde eyed her cautiously, and then looked in the basement over her shoulder. "Should I be looking for a body?" he asked._

_"No," Jackie laughed. "We talked, and then she left. She went back to her husband, and I don't think she's coming back."_

_Hyde looked at her. "Jackie, I love you," he said._

_She looked up at him, her smile lighting up her whole face. "Steven, I love you too."_


	17. That's What You Get

That's What You Get

"_No, Sir, well, I don't want to be the blame not anymore._

_It's your turn, so take a seat, we're settling the final score. _

_And why do we like to hurt so much?_

_I can't decide, you have made it harder just to go on, oh. _

_And why, all the possibilities, Well, I was wrong._

_That's what you get when you let your heart win. Whoah-oh. _

_That's what you get when you let your heart win, whoah-oh-oh._

_I drowned out all my sense away, the sound of its beating._

_But that's what you get when you let your heart win, whoah-oh-oh."_

_-Paramore, "That's What You Get"_

_Jackie's POV-_

_So Fez was gone. They'd broken up maybe an hour ago, and she was still trying to get it through her head. It was hard for her to grasp._

_It seemed so surreal, the whole thing. Being Fez's girlfriend hadn't even seemed that real the whole time, so now, breaking up didn't seem that real either._

_How could you break up something that never happened?_

_She remembered the moment Fez told her, his face slipped into her mind. It was like he had been waiting for her there, waiting until the moment she was ready to go back to him._

_But was she ready? She remembered Sam coming._

_Sam. She'd been the thing that had ultimately kept them apart. Jackie figured if Sam hadn't been there, Jackie and Steven would've been together by now._

_And yet, everything she'd felt when Sam had first showed up had been like a train wreck, hitting her all at once. She'd felt bruised and broken for months afterwards, and now, even now, she still wasn't healed._

_Every burn he'd thrown at her afterwards hurt a hundred times more than ever, and every time someone said his name, she felt her heart break a little bit more._

_After him, every laugh felt forced, every smile felt fake. All that seemed real anymore was the crying and the hurt._

_That was how he left her._

_Hyde's POV-_

_He walked Fez walk out the door. He had been the first one that Fez told. Vaguely, he realized that was Fez's way of repaying him. Fez'd always rooted for Jackie and Hyde to be together, even when Fez was dating her. This was his testament to how much he loved his friends._

_He sighed._

_She was free- free to walk back into his life and be his again. It had been months since he'd felt this way, this suffocating feeling he'd lived with for so long gone._

_He hadn't felt this way since before Chicago. It had been ages ago, and yet that was the day that marked a new time for them. The hurtful, painful time._

_There had been Sam, who had caused so much hurt for Jackie. He'd promised himself he'd never hurt her. And at the first sign of Kelso, he'd hurt her and married Sam._

_He saw how much it hurt her, seeing him, seeing Sam, seeing them together. He saw the pain in her eyes whenever he made a burn towards her, and yet she wouldn't speak up._

_He continued with it, burning her more and more, part of him telling him to stop, to let her be, to stop hurting her. But the other part of him kept going, hoping that one day the old Jackie would come back, and she'd finally defend herself._

_She never did._

_There was a new Jackie now. She was tougher, and sadder, and less like Jackie._

_And that was his fault._

_Every step of the way, he had known that. He had seen every little bit of pain in her, and felt it mirrored in himself a hundred times over._

_He had heard it from Donna often enough before. Donna had seen her, day after day, crying until her eyes were red. Every little thing set her off, and she was crying constantly. Donna had been so upset about Jackie, she'd even started to cry._

_Hyde had just stood there, taking it all. She called him a coward, and a jerk. He knew that. But he couldn't do anything. All he could do was stand there._

_Fez told him too. Even when he and Jackie were going out, Fez told Hyde how much Jackie missed him. Eric, who seemed to hate Jackie, spoke to Hyde, telling him to talk to her. Kelso, _Kelso_, had had the insight to see what Jackie was suffering through, and practically begged him to go to her._

_And yet he stood there._

_The Shouting Match-_

_Jackie walked into the basement. Hyde was already sitting there, waiting._

_"Donna told me you wanted to talk to me?" she asked. Her voice was unintentionally cold and dead-sounding to him, so different from before._

_He nodded. "How are you doing?" he asked gruffly._

_"Um. Okay, I think." She nodded. "It's hard to realize, I guess. I mean, it was hard to believe that we were even going out, and breaking up doesn't seem so bad then."_

_He nodded. Out of the hundreds of things buzzing around in his mind, he could say nothing._

_"It's better, though," she said quietly._

_Hyde knew what she meant. Better than it had been after they'd broken up._

_"Jackie, I was thinking-"_

_Her face became troubled. "Steven-"_

_"No, just listen to me, Jackie," he said. "I am sick of this. I haven't stopped thinking of you since Chicago, Jackie, not for a second, and, and it's driving me crazy!" he sort of shouted the last part._

_Her eyes narrowed a bit, and he instinctively took a step back._

_"You haven't stopped thinking of me?" Her voice was getting louder. "Well, that's great news! Seeing how everything always works out so great for us!"_

_"Jackie-"_

_"No!" she was shouting now. "What happens this time? What happens if we get back together, and then you decide you get bored of me again, or you get paranoid about me and Michael, and you leave again? What happens then?"_

_Her thoughts were so dead-on that he was furious. "Well, you know what? At least I tried! I came back after the first time with the get-off-my-boyfriend, and I came back! And then after the nurse, I fought for you!" he shouted back._

_"And then when you couldn't handle Michael anymore, even though _nothing happened_, you left! You went and brought home Sam, and you stopped fighting for me! You didn't care anymore! You left me for her, you _married_ her, Steven! And now you're telling me, you fought for me? Even when she was gone, you didn't fight for me! You gave up! You never cared."_

_The last statement hurt so much, it took the breath out of him. "I never cared? Jackie, I cared more for you than anything else in the world. I still do! You never seemed to figure that out, that I love you!"_

_She stopped. "You love me?"_

_"Yes."_

_"You mean, you _still_ love me?" she asked._

_His answer came quick as a heartbeat. "Yes, Jackie. That's what I've been trying to say."_

_His heart leaped when he saw her eyes soften, all of the walls and toughness she'd put up in the last months finally gone. She was Jackie again, and she was his._

_She rushed up to him, and they were kissing. He never thought he could miss one person so much, love her so much, but he did._

_And everything was fine, because they were together again._


	18. Almost Lover

A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [A Fine Frenzy], or That 70's Show, or any of its characters.

_**Okay, so I never do any sad-ending stories, but this short little one is. Sorry about that. But tell me what you think? :D**_

Almost Lover

"_And I never want to see you unhappy._

_I thought you'd want the same for me._

_Goodbye, my almost lover._

_Goodbye, my hopeless dream._

_I'm trying not to think about you, Can't you just let me be._

_So long my luckless romance, my back is turned on you._

_Should have known you'd bring me heartache._

_Almost lovers always do."_

_-"Almost Lover," A Fine Frenzy_

_Jackie wrote Hyde a letter. She was leaving, leaving for good. She couldn't take it anymore, this sadness of watching him everyday, and knowing that he would never be her's again._

_So she left. She gave the letter to Eric, asking him, teary-eyed, to please make sure it got to Hyde. It was her one and final good-bye to Point Place._

_She was leaving it all behind, leaving behind all the terrible memories, leaving behind all the misunderstandings, the complications, the hurt and pain that the last few years had brought her._

_She could carry all of the happy moment with her, she didn't need to leave those behind._

_But this was, as she left for New York, her good-bye._

_Hyde woke up, and saw the letter perched on his bedside table. He opened it cautiously, unaware of its contents._

Steven-

I cannot stand this anymore. I'm leaving.

You're the only one, besides Eric, who is giving you this letter from me, who gets a good-bye. I hate saying goodbyes. You know that.

But I have to, Steven. I have to say good-bye to the past year, to pain, to hurt, to anger, to sadness, to everything that went wrong for us. I have to say good-bye to the questions, and the worries, and the wonderings, and the what-ifs.

I have to say good-bye to almost, Steven, and I have to save good-bye to you.

Love, Jackie


	19. I've Just Seen A Face

A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [The Beatles, or in the version I was listening to, Jim Sturgess], or That 70's Show, or any of its characters. I've Just Seen A Face

"_I've just seen a face, I can't forget the time or place where we just met. She's just the girl for me, and I want all the world to see we've met. Mmm-hmm._

_Had it been another day, I might've looked the other way, and I'd have never been aware, but as it is, I'll dream of her tonight. Da-da-da-da-da-da._

_Fallen, yes, I have fallen, and she keeps calling me back again._

_I have never known the like of this, I've been alone, and I have missed things and kept out of sight, but other girls were never quite like this. Mmm-hmm._

_Fallen, yes, I have fallen, and she keeps calling me back again._

_Fallen, yes, I have fallen, and she keeps calling me back again._

_Fallen, yes, I have fallen, and she keeps calling me back again._

_Fallen, yes, he has fallen, and she keeps calling me back again."_

_-"I've Just Seen A Face," The Beatles (I have the version with Jim Sturgess, though, which is amazing)_

_"Hey, you guys, let's go to the Hub!" Kelso exclaimed one day, as they were sitting there, watching TV._

_"Man, Kelso, we just ate," said Hyde._

_"Yeah, but I heard the whole entire cheerleading squad is going down there!" said Kelso. "All of them at once! It'll be like the jackpot!"_

_"Kelso, all of those girls are totally stuck up and stupid. Why would you want to be there?" Hyde asked._

_Kelso scampered around the room for something, and finally found what he was looking for on the table in the basement. "Look at this picture, man, and tell me that you don't want to go down to the Hub and see them all there," said Kelso, showing Hyde a picture._

_"Man, where did you get this?" Hyde asked._

_"I stole it. It's one of their cheer pictures- the one for the yearbook. Yeah, so I was making out with the yearbook editor girl, and I saw the picture, and I took it!" Kelso exclaimed. "Smart, huh?"_

_"Yeah, fine, okay, we'll go," said Hyde. "Let's get Eric and Fez first, though. You know how ticked Fez'll be if he finds out we left him out of this."_

_Together, the four guys walked into the Hub, amazed at all the girls all sitting there. The Hub had turned into a magnificent, glorious place, with beautiful girls everywhere._

_Hyde smiled, content in knowing that he would spend the rest of the night watching Kelso make a fool of himself, listening to Eric call Donna endlessly, and be able to watch Fez get rejected by all the girls._

_He sat down, ready to settle into the usual routine when someone caught his eye. It was the most incredible looking girl he'd ever seen before._

_She smiled at him, laughing with all her other friends, but the two of them exchanged glances all night long._

_Finally, an hour or two later, she came over. "Is that your friend over there?" she asked. "The one who has his arm in the jukebox?" She was trying to suppress her giggles at Kelso's misfortunes, which made him like her even more._

_"Yeah, that's him," said Hyde. "Don't worry, he'll get himself out of there eventually. If not, we'll fish him out before we go home."_

_She laughed. It was a wonderful laugh, Hyde thought to himself. "My name's Jackie," she said. "And you're Steven, right?" she added._

_"Uh, I go by Hyde, actually," he said._

_"Okay, well, I'll see you around," she said, getting up to go back to her friends. "Bye, Steven."_

_He grinned._

_The whole night, Hyde's head was filled with only thoughts of her. He knew her, she had talked to him, and she had said his name- Steven, not Hyde- and now he could only think of her. He hated it and loved it at the same time. He felt like Foreman, being such a girl._

_But it was true. He couldn't stop thinking about her._

_And he actually liked the idea of that for once._


	20. Jolene

A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [Dolly Parton, or in the song I was listening to, Brooke White], or That 70's Show, or any of it's characters, though Jolene and Phil are my own characters. Tell me what you think! :D Jolene

"_Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene._

_I'm begging of you please don't take my man._

_Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene._

_Please don't take him just because you can._

_Your beauty is beyond compare, flaming locks of auburn hair,_

_And ivory skin, and eyes of emerald green._

_Your smile is like a breath of spring, your voice is soft like summer rain,_

_And I just can't compete with you, Jolene._

_He talks about you in his sleep._

_And there's nothing I can do to keep from crying when he calls your name, Jolene._

_And I can easily understand how you could easily take my man,_

_But you don't know what he means to me, Jolene._

_Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene._

_I'm begging of you please don't make my man._

_Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene._

_Please don't take him just because you can._

_You could have your choice of men, but I could never love again._

_He's the only one for me, Jolene._

_And I had to have this talk with you, my happiness depends on you,_

_And whatever you decide to do, Jolene._

_Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene._

_I'm begging of you please don't take my man._

_Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene._

_Please don't take him even though you can."_

_-"Jolene," Dolly Parton (even though I have the Brooke White version)_

_Jackie looked at Hyde's new girlfriend. The beautiful Jolene, the one that no one could seem to stop talking to. She was nice and perfect and gorgeous._

_And she had him._

_As much as Jackie wished desperately to hate her, she couldn't. She couldn't possibly. But she still held the one thing Jackie needed most in life._

_As Jackie walked into the basement, she realized the two of them were alone._

_"Oh, hey, Jackie," Jolene said. "I'm just waiting for Hyde. He's over at Kelso's apartment, trying to help him get his fingers out of the VCR. Again." She smiled._

_Jackie laughed. "That sounds like Michael," she said. She took a big breath. She had to say something. "Listen, Jolene, I have tot talk to you."_

_"Yeah?" the girl asked, her green eyes filling with concern._

_"Look, I don't know what Steven's told you about our past relationship," she started. "But it-it was, well, it was crazy, and there was so many complications, and well, we were in love," she stated simply._

_The girl gave her an odd look, but nodded her head, motioning for her to keep talking._

_"And, and I still love him, and I don't think I can stand it anymore," Jackie said. "You don't understand how it feels to watch him look at you, the way he does, and listen to him talk to you, and it hurts so bad, because I can't even dislike you, because you're so sweet and everything," she added._

_Jolene gave her a small smile. They were both tearing up._

_"And I know that you're together, and I know that I shouldn't be saying things like this, but I had to say something. If it were anybody else, I wouldn't have bothered." She took a shaky breath. "And you're the only one that could change anything between us. It's up to you. I know you can have him, look at you, but you could find anyone. I know you." She offered a friendly smiled through her tears. "But-but he's the only one, Jolene. He's the only one I could possibly love. And I do, I do love him."_

_Jolene nodded._

_"And I know maybe you don't understand, and I'm sorry for dumping this on you, and I know I shouldn't have said anything, but I had to. I had to say something."_

_Jolene looked at her. "Jackie, I _know_. About a year ago, my fiancée, Phil, and I broke up, because we realized we couldn't work on a long-distance relationship, because I had left town, and he had stayed. And then, and then I went and came home and stayed for a few weeks, and there was a girl, and she was with him, and it was like you said, I couldn't hate her, even though I wanted to, but she had him, and I didn't. And everyday, I wanted to say something, but I never did. And I really wish I did."_

_There was a slight pause in the conversation._

_"Jackie, I know how it feels, and I couldn't stand being that person. I'm giving this up," she said. She started to walk out and leave the basement. "And, Jackie? Go get your man back." With a teary smile, she left._

_About three months later, Jackie got a letter._

Jackie,

I hope everything's going well with you and Hyde. I pray that you two got back together. Ever since I heard your story, I thought about how you fought for him, and I realized that I never fought for Phil. And I should've. And so I came back home, and he had broken up with his girlfriend, and we talked, and well, the wedding invitation is in this envelope. I hope I see you and Hyde there.

Thank you for talking to me. You have changed my life, and you have let me spend the rest of my life with Phil, and you cannot know how much that means to me. Thank you so much, Jackie.

-Jolene

P.S. You should come visit us soon, in New York. You would absolutely _love_ it here!

_Jackie showed the letter to Hyde._

_"So, a New York wedding?" Hyde asked._

_Jackie nodded. "It'll be fun."_

_"Do I have to wear a suit and tie?" asked Hyde._

_"Of course you do, Steven," she replied._

_"Fine, we'll go," he replied gruffly, the corners of his lips moving upwards in a smile._

_She grinned at him. "Oh, thank you, Steven! And who knows? Maybe we'll get ideas for our own wedding while we're there," she added, gazing at the sparkling engagement ring that sat on her finger._


	21. Only Fooling Myself

A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [Kate Voegele], or That 70's Show, or the characters. Only Fooling Myself

"_I start to catch my breath, and I start to catch your eye._

_No need to second guess that you've been on my mind._

_Well, I dream days away but that's okay._

…

_One day I'll turn around, I'll see your hand reach out._

_I'm only fooling myself, yeah, yeah, yeah._

_And baby, when you smile, it means you'll stay a while._

_Just maybe you'll take me now._

_I'm only fooling myself, yeah, yeah, yeah._

_I'm only fooling myself._

…

_I sigh, step away to a day that'll never come._

_It's like a splash of water to my face,_

_When I suddenly realize that you could never find a place._

_In your eyes, and I don't know why I keep thinking_

_One day I'll turn around, I'll see your hand reach out._

_I'm only fooling myself, yeah, yeah, yeah._

_And baby, when you smile, it means you'll stay a while._

_Just maybe you'll take me now._

_I'm only fooling myself, yeah, yeah, yeah._

_I'm only fooling myself."_

_-"Only Fooling Myself," Kate Voegele_

_Jackie gazed at him, sitting there. It'd been a while since she felt this, this tingly beginning of a new crush feeling._

_It had been nice with Michael, for a while. He had been fun and all, and beautiful, but he was just _not_ a good boyfriend. Honestly, he hardly ever listened to what she told him to do, and he was always complaining about her to his friends, and his friends were horrible and rude most of the time. Well, Donna was nice enough, even if she needed a wardrobe update, and Fez was sweet, though slightly creepy._

_Eric, though, had decided she was the devil. Which told her that he was not fondof her, like she was not fond of him. Michael was Michael._

_And Steven…Steven was something else. He was mean and rude and annoying and pessimistic most of the time. But he could be nice to her, when it was just the two of them, when she was upset and he would comfort her._

_Now Michael was gone, and they were done. Eric was gone upstairs somewhere, pining over Donna, who was in California with Michael. And Fez- who knew where Fez was half the time? Knowing Fez, he was probably buying candy or something._

_But Steven was here, sitting on the couch beside her, and she started to get that having-a-crush-again feeling. And he wasn't with anyone, and she wasn't with anyone, and it was just the two of them._

_She sat there, not paying any mind to the show that they were watching, but only imagining what could happen._

_He would be sitting there, and all of a sudden reach out to her, telling her how much he has wanted it to be the two of them alone, and how much he liked her, and that he's always liked her, and he was just waiting for Michael to be out of the picture. He would smile at her, and kiss her, and they would be together forever._

_That was what was going on in her head, as she watched him out of the corner of the eye, noticing that he stared straight ahead at the TV, and his head didn't even move in her direction once._

_Of course, she thought. Like that would ever happen. Only she would think that. Because it would never happen. Not in a million years. Because not only would Steven never do something like that, he would especially never say any of those things to _her_. Because he hated her, he had even said it to her, and to everyone else._

_So why was the scene still playing in her head? Over and over again, it went. But it would never happen._

_So, why, _why_ did she want it to be true so badly?_

_"Jackie?" Hyde said._

_"Yeah," Her voice was annoyed now, because of her irritation with herself over her stupid, impossible crush._

_"Listen, Jackie, Kelso's gone, no one's here, and well, I sort of- I kind of-" He cleared his throat, then leaned over and kissed her, and then returned to watching the TV show._

_She smiled. Maybe her crush wasn't impossible. Maybe, for once, she wasn't fooling herself._


	22. Take Me Away

A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [Plain White T's], or That 70's Show or any of its characters.

_**This is one of my all-time favorite songs, and it's just another little songfic. Tell me what you think. :D**_

Take Me Away

"_I know we just got here, but I think it's time to go._

_I didn't want to believe it, but now I know._

_You know who just got here, and she didn't come alone._

_I can't stand to see this, take me home._

_Take me away, I'm gonna hurt somebody._

_Take me away right now._

_How could she say, she wanted more?_

_You better take me away right now._

_I thought she was perfect, she thought I was perfect too._

_Perfect until she found somebody new._

_Now I'm stuck here watching her,_

_I can't take this abuse._

_What does this guy do that I can't do?_

_Take me away, I'm gonna hurt somebody._

_Take me away right now._

_How could she say, she wanted more?_

_You better take me away right now._

_Take me away, I'm gonna hurt somebody._

_Take me away right now._

_How could she say, she wanted more?_

_You better take me away right now._

_Take me away, oh, oh._

_Take me away right now._

_How could she say, she wanted more?_

_You better take me away right now._

_Right now,"_

_-"Take Me Away," Plain White T's_

_There was a Valentine's Day dance tonight. Hyde had found a date, someone he had met at the record store, and who obviously wouldn't have minded going to a dance. She was that kind of girl, even if she did like all his favorite bands._

_So, he went._

_They had only been there for a few minutes before Hyde turned to his date and said, "Hey, you know what? This is lame. Let's go."_

_She glanced in the direction that his eyes kept darting to, and nodded knowingly. "So, is she your ex, then?" she asked._

_"Huh? I- I don't- what do you mean?" he asked._

_"That girl, she's your ex, huh?" she said. "Okay, look, Hyde. We paid to get into this dance. I bought this dress because you asked me. We paid for pictures up at the front. We're staying." She wasn't bossy or rude, and she didn't say it like Jackie would've, but just very firmly, like Donna._

_He nodded. "Fine." His reply was curt._

_"Come on, let's dance," she said._

_The reply was on the tip of his tounge, but she pulled his arm over to the dance floor, and he let her. Maybe if Jackie saw them dancing, she would be jealous._

_But in truth, he was the only one that was jealous. Eric had told him, and Kelso too, and even Fez had mentioned it, but he hadn't really believed them._

_Now, seeing her walk in here, with that guy, knowing that _he_ had won, this stranger, _he_ had won the girl of his dreams._

_Everything that they had had was gone, left alone in the past, and now she had someone else, someone he couldn't stand. Why would she pick him? Why would she like him better? Why couldn't he get her back?_

_Finally, after an hour of pining, his date looked at him straight in the eye. "You really like her, don't you?" she asked softly._

_He nodded._

_"Fine," she said. "Then this is what's going to happen. I'm going to go over and talk to her date, distract him. I'll show him the cake or something," she said. "You go talk to her. Really _talk_ to her."_

_He looked at her, this amazing girl who was so helpful to him, so willing to help him get what he wanted, what he needed most. "Thank you," he said, sincerity ringing in his voice._

_"No problem," she answered. "I kind of know how it feels," she said. She shrugged. "Now, go on, let's get your girl back."_

_The night was over, and Jackie was in Hyde's arms, resting on his shoulder. "Steven, I'm so glad to have you back," she said. "I missed you."_

_"I missed you too," he said. "Jackie, I love you."_

_"I love you too," she replied, smiling adoringly up at him as he kissed her on the forehead._

_He looked over her shoulder as the two of them rocked back and forth. There was his date, in Jackie's date's arms. He grinned. It looked like Valentine's Day was truly a night for everyone's happy endings._


	23. Working My Way Back To You

A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons], or That 70's Show, or any of its characters.

_**So, picture it this way, the song is from Hyde's POV, and the story is how Jackie sees his actions. Make sense? Thanks for reading. Please review? You guys rock.**_

Working My Way Back To You

"_Working my way back to you, babe, with a burning love inside._

_Yeah, I'm working my way back to you, babe, for the happiness that died._

_I let it get away._

_Playing everyday._

_When you were so in love with me, I played around like I was free._

_Thought that I could have my cake, and eat it too._

_But how I cried over losing you._

…

_I ain't about to go living my life without you._

_For every day I made you cry,_

_I won't give in 'til the day that I die._

_I keep working my way back to you, babe, with a burning love inside._

_Yeah, I'm working my way back to you, babe, for the happiness inside._

_I let it get away._

…

_I used to love to make you cry. It used to make me feel like a man inside._

_But if I'd been a man in reality, you'd still be here, baby, loving me._

…

_I keep working my way back to you, babe, with a burning love inside._

_I'm working my way back to you, babe, for the happiness that died._

_I let it get away._

…

_Working my way back to you, babe, with a burning love inside._

_I'm working my way back to you, babe, for the happiness that died,_

_Oh, how I cried._

_Working my way back to you, babe, with a burning love inside."_

_-"Working My Way Back To You," Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons_

_"No, Steven," Jackie said. "Leave."_

_"But, Jackie-"_

_"Steven! We have gone over this! We are broken up. And we're not getting back together," she said. "And you know why? Because we just don't make sense! Because I need a nice, caring, romantic man! Who _earns_ my love! And doesn't throw it away on some nurse, just because he overreacts!" she shouted, trying to close the door, but Hyde stopped the door._

_"Fine, Jackie, you want me to earn your love? Fine! I will," he said, then turned around, leaving her to watch him walk away in wonderment._

_"Jackie?" Donna asked. "Jackie, get down here right now!" she called from the bottom of the staircase._

_Jackie trudged downstairs, annoyed. "Yes, I know, Donna," she said, sighing. "They've been coming every twenty minutes for the past four hours. I finally just stopped answering the door, and having them just sent inside the living room," she added, motioning to the living room, overflowing with many bouquets and arrangements of flowers._

_"Ah, so that would explain the 'Just get in the house, and drop the flowers, stupid!' sign on the door," said Donna, nodding. She looked at the tag on one of the flowers. "Are these all from Hyde?" she asked._

_Jackie nodded. "Yeah, and the last one that came said 'This is just the start of it all, Jackie.' It's like he took something I always thought would be romantic and sweet, and turned it into something as annoying as heck."_

_"Wow, being Hyde's girlfriend has really changed you, hasn't it?" Donna said. "So…what on earth did you say to him?"_

_"I said that we weren't together anymore, because we don't make sense together at all, and I said what I wanted was someone who earned my love. And he said that he _would_ earn my love. And-" She motioned again to all of the flowers surrounding the two of them. "This all started."_

_"So, are you going to go back to him now?" Donna asked._

_"No," said Jackie plainly. "He's hurt me, and he knows it. And I can't forget about that."_

_Donna sighed. "Then this should be an interesting next few days."_

_Jackie looked around her in frustration as Donna walked in through the door. "Look at this, Donna!" she shouted, as Donna suppressed her laughter. "He's trying to make me fat!"_

_Boxes of chocolates and candy covered all surfaces in the living room not already occupied by flowers._

_"He wants to get me fat, Donna, and then he thinks I'll be weak, and I'll say yes!" Jackie shouted. "But I won't. Because I won't get fat! Because I _can't_ get fat!"_

_Donna giggled at the whole spectacle before her. "Oh my gosh, he's worse than Eric," she said, laughing._

_"Yeah, I never thought that was even _possible_," Jackie said. "Ugh, I wish Fez was here. Then this candy would be gone in, like, two minutes flat."_

_The doorbell rang. Jackie was watching her favorite show on TV, so Donna graciously got up and answered the door._

_"Jackie!" she called. "You might want to come here!"_

_"What, Donna, I-_Ugh!_" she shouted, upon seeing the singing minstrels that had evidently been sent to her door. She stormed off, upstairs, into her room. "I-cannot-believe-him!" she screeched._

_Donna laughed._

_"Oh my gosh!" Donna laughed. "This place is like Jackie-heaven!"_

_The room was filled with a billion stuffed unicorns. Donna laughed hysterically._

_"It's not funny, Donna! This is horrible!" Jackie shouted. "I had a _nightmare_ last night about unicorns. All of these unicorns gave me a nightmare! I've _never_ had a nightmare about unicorns- or any other cute animal- before! Steven is _ruining_ unicorns for me! Donna, it isn't funny! Donna, stop laughing!" she screeched._

_"Steven, what is with you?" Jackie asked. "The whole house is filled with flowers, and stuffed unicorns, and chocolates that aren't eaten because Fez isn't here, and I can't eat them, because I'll get fat, and then you think I'll say yes, but I won't, Steven!"_

_Steven just stared at her, confused. "What are you talking about? I don't even understand what you're saying!"_

_"I'm saying that when I said you needed to earn my love, I didn't mean with stuff," she said. "All my life, that was how people earned my love, with stuff. And you were the first person to _really_ show me love, Steven. That's all I wanted. That's all I ever wanted. I just wanted you to _show_ me that you love me."_

_Hyde grinned. "Oh, well, if that's all…" He kissed her._

_"Steven, this time you'd better be good," she said. "I mean it! And if you mess up again, it's gonna take a lot more than flowers and chocolates and unicorns and singing people to get me back! It had better be raining diamonds!"_

_Hyde laughed. "Whatever you say, Jackie," he said, and he kissed her again._


	24. Lovefool

A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [The Cardigans], or That 70's Show, or any of its characters.

Okay, so this is before Jackie and Hyde got together, back when she liked him, but he said he didn't like her. :D

Lovefool

"_Dear, I fear we're facing a problem._

_You love me no longer, I know,_

_And maybe there is nothing that I can do to make you do._

_Mama tells me I shouldn't bother,_

_That I ought to stick to another man,_

_A man that surely deserves me._

_But I think you do._

_So I cry and I pray and I beg._

_Love me, love me._

_Say that you love me._

_Fool me, fool me._

_Go on and fool me._

_Love me, love me._

_Pretend that you love me,_

_Leave me, leave me._

_Just say that you need me._

_So I cry, and I beg for you to_

_Love me, love me._

_Say that you love me._

_Leave me, leave me._

_Just say that you need me._

_I can't care about anything but you."_

_-"Lovefool," The Cardigans_

_Jackie looked at Hyde. "Steven, why not?" she asked._

_"Because I don't like you. Because it's more like I really don't like you," Hyde replied, a look of disgust on his face._

_"But, why won't you ever give us a chance?" she asked. "You have no idea! You hardly know anything about me!" she shouted as she stomped out._

_"Jackie, please get up, that's my seat," said Hyde._

_"I love you, too," Jackie replied, happily getting up._

_Hyde groaned._

_"Excuse me, Jackie." Hyde said, trying to go past her in the hallway. "No, no! Jackie!" he shouted, as Jackie gave him a peck on the cheek._

_"Jackie, what are you doing in my chair again?" Hyde demanded._

_"I am sitting here," she replied. "Just waiting for you."_

_"Well, get up!" Hyde shouted._

_"Anything for you."_

_"Jackie, stop looking at me like that," Hyde said, annoyed._

_"Like what?"_

_"Like that."_

_"Steven, I can't stop if I don't know what you're talking about!" Jackie sing-songed, giggling._

_"Man, Jackie won't stop bothering me!" Hyde complained. "It's so annoying. I just want to, like, pick her up, and throw her out of the room!"_

_Eric, Fez, and Kelso laughed at the thought._

_"Hey, man, we'll help!" added Eric._

_Jackie, who had been standing on the basement stairs turned around in anger and humiliation. She would show them._

_Jackie hadn't been down to the basement in a week, but she was finally ready to go back. She was completely dressed up, from head to toe, looking her very best. She would show them._

_She walked into the basement, enjoying the satisfaction of watching Hyde turn and look at her with a look of amazement. "Hi, you guys," she said cheerily, taking the furthest seat away from Hyde. "What are you up to?"_

_"Um, we were actually going to go to a concert," said Fez._

_"You probably don't wanna come," offered Eric._

_"Who is it?" Jackie asked._

_"Oh, it's just some local band, just playing somewhere cheap, no big deal," said Donna nonchalantly._

_"Oh, well, you know, it's fine, I don't really wanna go," said Jackie. She paused and allowed herself a slight smile. "I just was stopping by to say that I had a few extra Pink Floyd tickets- five extra tickets, actually- but if you guys are busy…well, then I'll just be going," she said, grabbing her purse and walking out the basement, grinning widely as she left. Her plan was going to work._

_She waited outside the basement door, counting to three, before Hyde came out. "Listen, Jackie, I-I think that Pink Floyd concert would be way more fun if we all went together, you know, instead of just you by yourself."_

_"You mean, you want to go to the concert, even if it means you have to go with me?" she asked, her eyebrows raised._

_"No, that's not what I mean."_

_"You mean, even though I'm bothering you, annoying you, and you just want to throw me out of the room?" she asked, ticking each one off on her fingers._

_Hyde's eyes got big. "You heard- No, man, it's not like that. I mean, I can't have them thinking that I _like_ you, because, well, I can't, even if I have to pretend that I don't like you-"_

_"Pretend?" she said. "Wait, Steven, does that mean you _do_ like me?"_

_"Well, I don't- no, I-"_

_"You do! Oh, Steven!" she exclaimed._

_He smiled and gave her a small peck on the lips. "If you tell any of them, you owe me tickets to the next _six_ Pink Floyd concerts!" he said, laughing._

_"Whatever you say," she said, laughing, and kissed him again._


	25. Always Never

A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [Shannon Thomas], or That 70's Show or any of its characters.

Okay, so this is a really awesome song by Shannon Thomas. If you wanna look at any of her other songs, she has some good ones, including- for all your Twilight people out there- a song called "Edward." I don't know if it's related to the series or not, but it rocks. Thanks for reading! :D

Always Never

"_If I keep waiting for you, like I've done before, would you walk out the door?_

'_Cause I'm coming in._

_Rivers of people go, well, I see through this world._

_If it's a small world, do I miss you?_

_Always, always it never works out._

_Never, never, I'm always in doubt._

_Always never do care about the one you can see._

_I might as well be make believe._

_I'm dreaming of impossible stuff._

_I need you too much, oh, but that's what love does._

_I'm fighting with fate, always on your tail._

_Never does any good, oh, I used to be good._

_And if I don't hold back, will you see where I'm at, _

_Or will you get fast, don't leave me hanging._

_Feelings become oppressed, I just forget the rest,_

_I have become a mess, and I keep thinking_

_Always, always it never works out_

_Never, never I'm always in doubt_

_You always never do care about the one you can see._

_I might as well be make believe._

_And I'm dreaming of impossible stuff._

_I need you too much, oh, but that's what love does._

_I'm fighting with fate, always on your tail._

_Never does any good, oh, I used to be good._

_And now I'm slowly finding out, fairy tales are purely fictional._

_What made me think that I can just dream loud._

_I would never be the one you can see._

_I might as well be make believe._

_And I'm dreaming of impossible stuff._

_I need you too much, oh, but that's what love does._

_I'm fighting with fate, always on your tail._

_Never does any good, oh, oh, oh._

_I'm dreaming of impossible stuff._

_I need you too much, oh, but that's what love does._

_I'm fighting with fate always on your tail._

_Never does any good, oh, oh, oh."_

_-"Always Never," Shannon Thomas_

_Crushing: a verb, _

_1) to like someone_

_2) a state of impossibility, of hopefulness, of wishing, of pretending_

_"It won't work," she muttered to herself._

_"What's that?" a voice asked._

_"Oh, sorry, nothing," she said quickly. Great. Now he thought she talked to herself. Which, apparently, she did. But it was only because of him. To talk herself out of this stupid feeling she was having._

_She had known him for a few years, but just as long as everybody else in the group. She was equally friends with him as everyone else, maybe even less so, so why did she feel this way? It didn't even make sense._

_Michael and her had made sense, even if he wasn't exactly the brightest flower in the garden. Fez liked her, but she didn't want to go out with him, though even _that_ made more sense than this. And Eric! Eric and her made more sense than this! That was how ridiculous it all was!_

_Her and Steven? No. That was completely and entirely out-of-this-world impossible._

_And yet-_

_And yet, how nice would it be to be his girlfriend, to sit with him and talk, to see his blue eyes light up when he saw her?_

_Okay, fine, so she liked him. Liked him a lot. But she couldn't show it. She _could not_. It would ruin everything in this perfect world of hers, to admit to liking a guy like him. The world would tip over and collapse, that was how _unJackie_-like everything would be._

_So she was determined to suffer through it all, making herself shut up and not say anything until this stupid crush went away. But it wasn't going away._

_She was always there, but he never realized. She was always sitting right in front of him, but he never noticed. She would always talk to him, but he would never give her real replies._

_It's like she was hardly even there to him._

_So she went back to her fantasy world, her perfect little place that she had made for herself, except this time, she had come to include Steven in there._

_Day after day, she would talk to him, she would sit there, and…nothing. So she would travel back to her imaginary world, where he told her how much he liked her, and he would kiss her, and everything would be perfect._

_Then she would come out of her daze, and he would still be sitting there, watching TV, ignoring her._

_One day, as she was sitting there, and the whole group was in there, she heard him say, "Wow, Man, look at her. Isn't she hot?"_

_Jackie glanced to the TV screen to see the person he was referring to. She narrowed her eyes. Sure. He would like _her_, the actress he would _never_, not in a million years get. But her? The one sitting right in front of him? The one who liked him? The one who maybe even loved him? Did he care about her?_

_No. He'd rather her not be here. He ignored her, like she _wasn't_ even there. He had purposefully pushed her away. He didn't like her, and wouldn't, and she had never seemed to realize that. But it was true. It would always be true._

_She narrowed her eyes deeper into slits as she glanced at the rest of the group, laughing- without her- talking- without her- being friends- without her. She was invisible to everyone, but especially to him._

_Well, she'd show them._

_She stopped coming to the basement, focusing mainly on cheerleading and her little plan. She smiled whenever she thought of it, so sure was she that it would work._

_Maybe a month later, she walked into the basement, wearing a little concert T-shirt that made everyone on the room stand-up when she walked in._

_"Jackie! Where did you get that?"_

_"Hey, Jackie. Did you miss me? Ooh, wow, Hyde's jealous of your shirt, Jackie!"_

_"Where did the Devil get that shirt? They've been sold out for months!"_

_"The goddess has the shirt!"_

_"Jackie, why haven't you been here in so long? And where did you get that shirt?"_

_The consecutive replies of her friends- Steven, Michael, Eric, Fez, then Donna- made her smile outwardly at the brilliance of her plan. It also hurt to hear that Donna was the only one who had seemed to care that she was gone for a month._

_"Oh, it's nothing," she replied offhandedly. "Yeah, my dad found a few extra tickets, so a few of us girls were planning on going." She smirked, then thought of Donna's early kindness. "But, Donna, it is a _girls'_ night out, so I guess you can come too."_

_The red-head's face lit up in excitement. "Oh, thank you, Jackie!" she exclaimed, giving the small girl a hug._

_Jackie handed her the black cloth in her hand, watching Donna's face light up yet again as she unfolded the shirt. "You bought me one of the concert shirts? But you can't even find them in stores anymore!" she exclaimed._

_"Yeah, but I just made a few calls," said Jackie. "And my daddy took care of the rest." She paused, examining the hopeful expressions on the rest of their faces. "Come on, Donna, let's go!" she said, grabbing the taller girl by the hand and pulling out of the basement._

_The door closed, but Jackie motioned for Donna to stay by the door._

_"What?!" They could hear Eric yelp from behind the door, and both girls snickered._

_"Jackie, are you really going to leave them out of this?" Donna asked. "They're, like, _dying_ to go to this concert."_

_"No," said Jackie. She motioned to her purse. "I already bought their tickets. It's just that I want to see if they have the guts to ask for them, seeing as how none of them really like me."_

_"What, Jackie, of course they do," said Donna. "What are you talking about?"_

_"Well, Michael, maybe, but only because we used to date, and Fez, because Fez thinks I'm pretty, but Eric thinks I'm the devil, and Steven pretends I'm not even there half of the time."_

_"Look, Jackie, that's not true," Donna said. "Michael likes you like a big brother, and he's very protective of you. Fez likes you, well, for a number of reasons, and because Fez is Fez. Eric doesn't really think you're the devil. He's actually told me a couple times that he actually sort of likes having you around." She grinned. "And-" She looked at the basement door, then back at Jackie. "Okay, promise you won't tell anyone?" she said excitedly._

_"Yes, Donna, tell me!" Jackie whispered back, ecstatic that her friend wanted to exchange secrets- Jackie loved secrets. "Ooh, is it about me?" she asked._

_"Yes!" Donna whispered back._

_"Yay! I love those ones!"_

_"Okay," said Donna. "Hyde told me a few weeks ago that he actually sort of li-"_

_"Jackie, canwepleasegototheconcertbecausewereallywanttogoandseethemandthey'reourfavoritebandandPLEASE?" Eric asked in one breath, as he opened the basement door._

_"Eric!" Both girls screeched, having been in the middle of their secret-telling._

_"Tell you what, Eric?" Jackie shouted. "You can go to the concert if you get back in the basement now, and none of you come out until I say so!"_

_"Woo-hoo!" came Kelso's shout of joy._

_"Alright, Foreman!" said Hyde._

_"You are my hero!" Fez exclaimed._

_"Eric!" Jackie said impatiently. "If you don't close that door in three seconds, you can't go."_

_Eric rushed back into the basement, slamming the door behind him._

_"Okay, so?"_

_"He said he actually sort of likes you," Donna divulged._

_"Oh my gosh!" Jackie exclaimed. "You're not kidding?" she said seriously._

_Donna shook her head. "Nope."_

_"Oh my gosh!"_

_"Wait, Jackie, you don't like him, do you?" Donna asked._

_"Um, I don't, I- uh, no?"_

_"Oh my gosh, you do! You like him!" Donna exclaimed. "Well, go talk to him! I'll distract all the other idiots while you do!"_

_"Thanks, Donna," Jackie said. "For this, and for being my friend," she added._

_"No problem, Jackie," she said. She smiled. "Now, go get him!"_

_Hyde walked out of the basement. "Donna told me you wanted to talk to me?" he asked._

_Jackie nodded._

_"Hey, listen, thanks for the concert tickets. That's really awesome of you," he added._

_She nodded again._

_"Hey, is something up?" he asked. "I don't know if you-"_

_"Do you like me?"_

_"What?" he asked._

_"I said, 'Do you like me?' Like at all? Even as friends?" she asked._

_Hyde looked towards the basement door. "Donna," he muttered angrily._

_"No, listen, it's not just that," she said. "I mean, did you even think I was okay before that?" she asked._

_"Well, yeah, sure."_

_"Because it didn't seem like that. Because you ignored me, and you acted like I wasn't even there half the time, like I didn't matter. Like you hated me," she said._

_"I never hated you," he said. "And well, I _had_ to be like that. Because otherwise, you would've known."_

_"Well, what was so wrong about that?" she asked._

_"Look at you, and look at me," he said. "It doesn't make any sense."_

_"I know it doesn't," she said, smiling. "But it does now. If I like you, and you like me, then-"_

_"Wait, you like me?" he asked, incredulous._

_She smiled. "Why did you think it hurt so much that you ignored me?" she asked._

_He smiled back at her, and then leaned down to kiss her. "So, I guess we're going to the concert together?" he asked._

_"I'd like that," she said. "Very much."_


	26. Ain't No Sunshine

Ain't No Sunshine

"Ain't no sunshine when she's gone. It's not warm when she's away. Ain't no sunshine when she's gone, and she's always gone too long any time she goes away.

_Wonder this time where she's gone. Wonder if she's gone to stay. Ain't no sunshine when she's gone. And this ain't no home anytime she goes away. _

_And I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know. _

_And leave the young thing alone, but ain't no sunshine when she's gone. _

_Ain't no sunshine when she's gone. Only darkness every day. Ain't no sunshine when she's gone, and this house just ain't no house anytime she goes away. _

_Anytime she goes away. Any time she goes away. Any time she goes away."_

_-"Ain't No Sunshine," Bill Withers_

_Hyde sat on his bed, in his room, in his apartment, watching the door, as he had been for the past hour._

_Another hour ticked by. He had barely breathed. And yet another._

_He couldn't stand it. Gone._

_She wasn't supposed to leave him. He'd been left alone before, but it had never felt like this before. Like leaving was really the end. At this point, the feelings of how Bud and Edna had left him had disappeared, and he could hardly remember how it felt. But this, this seemed to overtake him. His whole existence was focused on this now._

_"Steven, I can't deal with it anymore- you and your little outbursts! Anytime you're in a bad mood, I'm the one that has to deal with it! Anytime you're upset, you take it out on me! And I can't stand it, because I know that I love you, but I also know that it shouldn't be like this!" she had shouted at him last night after dinner. He had deserved it, which only made it hurt more._

_She had gone back to her apartment- in the same building- and he'd stayed in his. The next morning, he went down to her apartment, and saw that everything was gone. The landlord was in there, directing someone on sweeping the floor._

_"Where is she?" he had demanded._

_"She left," said the landlord. "This morning. I thought you knew."_

_Hyde shook his head slowly, backing out of the room, and half-running back to his apartment._

_And there he stayed, staring at the door._

_He awoke the next morning on the floor, aware that he had fallen asleep on the ground, watching the door, watching for her to come back._

_He spent the whole day walking around. The TV was turned on at one point, and the radio at another, but it was all just background noise. He could hardly even hear it- the pounding of his heart in his head was too loud._

_He couldn't stand it. Day after day, just this moping around. Eric and Fez and Kelso had continuously come by, but he couldn't be roused from his grief._

_He had no idea where she was, where she had gone, or how to get ahold of her. She had left no number, no forwarding address, hadn't called, hadn't mailed anything. It was like she had just dropped out of his life._

_And it was the worst possible thing he could imagine._

_There had been a time in his life when he would have loved to have Jackie Burkhart drop out of his life completely. But now, it was the one thing he couldn't stand._

_Rain clouds gathered outside, and a storm brewed. He smirked. Ironic. This was Jackie's favorite weather. He loved it too. Or, used to love it. Now it resembled his life- dark and grey and angry and sad._

_"Donna!" he shouted through the rainy downpour._

_"Hyde? Oh my gosh, what are you doing out here? It's pouring!" Donna shouted back at him._

_"Gee, thanks, Donna, I didn't notice," he said sarcastically._

_"Well, come on, get inside, stupid," she said, ushering him into her apartment. Once they were safely inside and out of the storm, and wrapped under blankets, she asked him, "So, what are you doing here?"_

_"You know where she is," he said simply._

_"What? What do you mean?" she asked._

_"I know you know where Jackie is," Hyde replied. "Maybe she wouldn't have told me, or Foreman, or Kelso, or Fez, but Jackie wouldn't have left town without telling you where she was going."_

_Donna nodded. "Hyde, she left for a reason, you know," she said gently._

_"Yeah, I know, but I can't stand it," he said. "And I know it's my fault, but I have to make it up to her, Donna. I have to try."_

_She nodded. "Okay, but Hyde, before I tell you, you have to promise that it won't be like this anymore. She's been telling me what's going, and I really- I wish you would stop doing all of this!" she said._

_"Well, don't worry, Donna, I won't be," he said. "Honestly, the only reason there _was_ any of that was because I was nervous about this." He pulled out a little ring boxand flipped the lid open. "Do you think she'll like it?"_

_Donna's eyes lit up. "Oh my gosh, Hyde! You're gonna ask her to marry you!"_

_"Yeah, I was, but it's a little hard when your girlfriend's missing," he said. "So, you wanna tell me where she is?"_

_"Sure," said Donna, grinning._

_"Jackie!" he shouted. The rain was pounding down even more heavily now. "Jackie, I need to talk to you!"_

_She opened up the door, and a smile lit up her eyes. "You came."_

_"Of course I came," he replied._

_"Come in," she said, taking off his jacket for him. "Geez, it's really raining now, huh?"_

_"Yeah," he said, nodding. "Pretty much." He took a seat on the couch. "So what did you mean 'you came?'" he asked._

_She shrugged. "I was waiting for you to come. I knew you would. You always come," she said, grinning at him._

_He shook his head in disbelief. "How could I not?" he asked, smiling. "Listen, Jackie, I know I've been a real jerk lately, but, well, this is why." He pulled out the box, and took her gasp as a good sign, and continued. "And I know I've messed things up, but I'm trying, Jackie, and I'm gonna keep trying, because I can't lose you," he said. "Never again."_

_She beamed at him. "Oh, Steven!" she said, throwing her arms around him._

_He laughed. "Is that a yes?" he asked, chuckling._

_"Of course!"_

_He grinned, looking at the rain outside, glad to see overcast sky for the first time in days. Because he didn't need sunshine in his life anymore- because he had Jackie._


	27. When the Rain Comes

A/N: I don't own the song or the lyrics [Third Day], or That 70's Show or its characters.

_**I would also like to add that this song is one of **_**the**_** most amazing song ever. It is so calming and wonderful and perfect. Ah, I love it! Please read and review! I love you guys!**_

When the Rain Comes

"_When the rain comes, it seems that everyone has gone away._

_When the night falls, you wonder if you shouldn't find someplace._

_To run and hide, escape the pain, but hiding's such a lonely thing to do._

_And I can't stop the rain from falling down on you again_

_And I can't stop the rain, but I will hold you 'til it goes away._

_When the rain comes, you blame it on the things that you have done_

_When the storm fades, you know the rain falls on everyone_

_So rest a while, it'll be alright._

_No one loves like I do._

_And I can't stop the rain from falling down on you again._

_I can't stop the rain, but I will hold you._

_I can't stop the rain from falling down on you again._

_And I can't stop the rain, but I will hold you 'til it goes away._

_When the rain comes, I will hold you."_

_-"When the Rain Comes," Third Day_

_Hyde shook off the rain as he walked into the mansion. He dropped his coat on the familiar carpet in the hallway. He stepped up the stairs softly, listening to the raindrops falling on the house._

_"Jackie, Jackie, baby, it'll be okay," he whispered, sitting on her bed, and slipping his arms around her._

_"Steven, I don't know what to do," she sobbed into his chest. "Nothing makes sense anymore."_

_"I know, baby, I know," he said, holding her tighter._

_"Steven, it was so soon, and now, he- and it-" Her voice became high-pitched before reducing to tears._

_He sighed. He couldn't imagine what she was going through right now. Jackie's father had been released from prison a week ago. She had finally been able to get past the whole incident, and he was thankful for it._

_Then, while at the Foreman's, they were standing around and talking when the phone rang. Mrs. Foreman handed the phone to Jackie and told the others to leave the room._

_When they got back, all they could see was Jackie crying and yelling at someone on the other line. When she hung up, Donna asked her, "Jackie, who was that?"_

_"My mom," she replied. "She told me that she and my dad have finalized their divorce, and she'll be marrying someone out in California." She sobbed. "She left, you guys. For good. She's not coming back- at all." And with that, she reduced into tears on Hyde's shoulder._

_After spending an hour comforting her, Hyde told her he had to go to work. "It won't be long," he said. "I should be home by eight, and I'll come see you then, and make sure you're doing okay, hmm?" he said, wiping away her tears._

_She nodded. "Love you, Steven," she said in a small voice._

_"Love you too," he said back, kissing her on the forehead._

_He had gone to work, and had received the call from Donna. "Yeah, thanks," he said gruffly. "Yeah, I know. Thanks." He hung up the phone, and slumped against the wall beside the phone. Poor Jackie. He gathered his things, put on his coat, and found Leo, who was sitting in the back room, just staring at the wall. Hyde didn't question it. "Hey, Leo, man, I gotta take off," he said. "I need to go visit Jackie."_

_"Loud Girl?" Leo asked, finally tearing his eyes away from the wall to look at Hyde._

_"Yeah," said Hyde. "She needs my help. She's going through a tough time right now," he added._

_"Well, tell Loud Girl I said hi," Leo said__._

_Hyde nodded. "Yeah, I will, thanks, man," he said, walking out the door._

_He walked through the rain up to the mansion. Poor Jackie. He couldn't stand to know the pain she was going through right now. His only consolations were knowing that he was here now, they were back together, and he could comfort her, and hold her through it all._

_"Steven, I don't know what to do," she said. "He just got home, and now he's in the hospital, and my mom's not coming back, and I don't-I can't-"_

_"I know, baby, I know, come here," he said, holding her tightly._

_In the three hours that Hyde had left after comforting her about her mother's permanent departure and remarriage and when he had gotten Donna's phone call, Jackie had received another phone call, this one from the hospital. Apparently, her father had a stroke while at work, and was currently at the hospital. He had yet to regain conciousness, and there was no update on his condition._

_"Shh, baby," he said. "It'll be okay. He'll be fine. We'll go visit him in the morning, and he'll be fine. You'll see," he soothed._

_"Steven, thank you for being here," she whispered. "You don't know how much it means to me. I hope you'll always be here," she added._

_"I will," he said. "I'll always be here," he whispered, as the rain outside fell in steady drops, crying tears for Jackie, and washing away all the pain, as Hyde held her in his arms, rocking her back and forth until she fell asleep._


	28. Break Apart Her Heart

**A/N: I don't own That 70's Show or its characters, or the song, the band, or the lyrics [Good Charlotte].**

**Oh my goodness, it's been ages since I've been able to post anything. My computer pretty much died on me, and the computer I was using after that would not let me get on here! But I got a new one for Christmas, so there'll be lots more! Please read and review! And thanks to all those who reviewed on my other stories. You totally rock!!! :D**

"_When you call, she doesn't answer,_

_When you write, she doesn't answer._

_You go out, you see him with her._

_She told you she was sick at home._

_The ring you gave her, thrown away_

_With all the letters._

_And when you see him with her he doesn't even care at all._

_And she follows him around like you follow her around._

_And he doesn't even care when you figure it out._

_The only way you're gonna keep somebody around_

_Well, I'm about to let you know_

_There's something I don't wanna understand_

_The only way a woman's gonna want a man_

_The only way you'll ever keep her in your hands_

_Is breakin' apart her heart._

_Don't tell her she's the reason that you live._

_Don't give her everything that you've got to give._

_If you wanna keep the girl for as long as you live,_

_Just breakin' apart her heart._

_Can't you see the way she's crying?_

_Well, that's what keep her trying._

_She knew that she could have you._

_And he don't give her what she wants._

_There's truth about this._

_You say you wanna be noticed,_

_Well, if you wanna be noticed,_

_You're gotta learn to break some hearts._

_Don't try to understand…_

_There's something I don't wanna understand_

_The only way a woman's gonna want a man_

_The only way you'll ever keep her in your hands_

_Is breakin' apart her heart._

_Don't tell her she's the reason that you live._

_Don't give her everything that you've got to give._

_If you wanna keep the girl for as long as you live,_

_Just breakin' apart her heart._

_Can you see what you've done?_

_What I've become? What I've become? _

_Can you see…?_

_Can you see…?_

_I don't understand this cruelty._

_I don't understand, but now I see._

_There's something I don't wanna understand_

_The only way a woman's gonna want a man_

_The only way you'll ever keep her in your hands_

_Is breakin' apart her heart._

_Don't tell her she's the reason that you live._

_Don't give her everything that you've got to give._

_If you wanna keep the girl for as long as you live,_

_Just breakin' apart her heart._

_I don't understand this cruelty._

_I don't understand- it's just not me._

_I don't understand this cruelty, but now I see."_

_-"Break Apart Her Heart," Good Charlotte_

_Hyde watched as his friend explained everything._

_He had been dating this amazing girl for the past eight months or so, and Hyde had met her a couple of times. She really was great. But she was gone, now as his friend was explaining to him._

"_Jake, what happened, man?" Hyde asked._

_Jake looked at him steadily. "I told her I loved her," he said. "And we started getting closer and closer and I bought her little presents, flowers and things, and then one day, she called to cancel out date- she said she was sick." He sighed. "I went to the movies anyways- I was going to meet up with some friends instead- and she was there, with him. They were laughing and talking, and- and she had lied. She wasn't sick at all. She was just out with him."_

_Hyde grimaced. "Look, I'm sorry, man."_

"_That's not the worst part," said Jake. "They saw me there," he said. "They were talking, and they turned around and saw me, and they didn't even seem upset that I saw. Like we were already broken up, like we'd never met, like it didn't even _matter_."_

_Hyde flinched. He just had the momentary image of that being him and Jackie in that situation, and the thought made his head ache._

"_Listen to me, man," said Jake, gazing at him with intensity. "Don't make the same mistakes I did. Don't give her everything that she tells you she wants. Don't say everything she wants you to say. Don't be what she tells you she wants to be, or she'll just leave you."_

_Hyde nodded slowly, unsure whether or not he would follow Jake's advice or not. He looked at his watch, and realized he was late. "Aw, geez, look, Jake, I'm late, and I gotta go," he said._

_Jake nodded slowly. "It's fine," he said. "But listen, don't forget what I said. Push her away, hurt her if you have to, if you wanna keep her."_

_Hyde nodded again, and walked out of the restaurant to his car. He sat in the car, and again, the image of that being him, and Jackie with some other guy, struck him. He shook his head. No, that wouldn't come true. No._

_Later that night, after their dinner with Eric and the rest of the Forman's, Hyde and Jackie were in the basement with everyone else._

"_I'm just saying," said Kelso. "Brooke's like, the perfect girl. She's like, really hot and really smart. Like, the other day I was going to jump off the roof to see if I could fly again, and she stopped me, and bought me a bungee cord, just in case my flying powers were broken." He grinned. "She's so cool. She's like, perfect."_

"_Well, I think Donna's perfect," said Eric, giving her a kiss._

"_Aw, well, thank you," said Donna, smiling._

_Jackie looked up at Hyde. "Steven, do you think I'm perfect?" she asked. It was an innocent, day-to-day Jackie question._

_But this time, Jake's advice was floating in his head. And the image of him and Jackie-_

"'_Course not," he said. "How can anybody be perfect?"_

_The hurt look on Jackie's face killed him, but it fought with the image of Jackie with another guy._

_A few days later, they were laughing and talking as Hyde walked Jackie from the Forman's house back to Donna's house. She leaned up against the hood of the El Camino._

"_Steven?" she asked._

"_Yes?"_

"_Do you love me?" she asked. There was a solemn look in her eyes._

_Again, he heard Jake's voice in his head, as if it was on repeat._

_He took a deep breath, and answered, "What is love, really?" he asked. "Do people even know love?" He thought he had successfully avoided the question, but the look on Jackie's face told him otherwise._

"_Jackie, look, I-"_

"_No, it's fine, Steven," she said. "I just wish you could just say 'no' without having the avoid the question." She walked away from him, teary-eyed, to Donna's house._

_He had inadvertedly opted for Jake's plan, and he had to follow through now, he realized._

_He was selfish, he knew, but he couldn't help it. Hurting Jackie was better than losing her forever._

_It was Valentine's Day. The ultimate day of Jackie's false hopes and expectations._

_He was wandering through the mall- only because he was bored, he told himself- and he saw a couple of things that might interest Jackie. He stopped at a bracelet, a beautiful bracelet, that he knew Jackie would adore._

_He walked into the store, set to buy it, already picturing the ecstatic look on Jackie's face, but it was suddenly replaced._

_The image of Jackie with some other guy, and him watching helplessly as they walked away from him._

"_Can I help you, Sir?" asked a salesperson in the store._

"_No," he said at last. "No, thank you."_

"_Steven, I have something for you!" Jackie announced as they sat down at the restaurant for their Valentine's Day dinner. She produced a box, looking very pleased with herself. She handed it to him. "Well?" she said, after a pause. "Open it!"_

_He did. It was a leather jacket, one that he'd eyed for ages, and that she said he couldn't have because she thought it would make him look mean and scary._

"_The jacket?" he asked incredulously. "But I thought you said-"_

"_I know, I know," said Jackie. "I still think it makes you look a little scary." She smled. "But as long as you're scary and _happy_," she said. "That's all that matters."_

_She looked up at him expectantly, waiting for her present. Hyde wished he had gone ahead and bought that bracelet. She would've loved it._

_As it was, he had no present._

"_Steven?" she asked tentatively._

"_Yes," he said. He knew what was coming, but he was trying to play it cool._

"_Do you have something to say?" she asked. Her voice was quiet, hopeful._

_He quickly scanned his mind, thinking of an appropriate answer, but he was saved by the waiter walking towards their table. "Come on, there's the waiter," he said. "Let's order," he added, ignoring the tears in her blue-green eyes._

_They were back to the Forman's driveway, and after Hyde had parked the car, they were saying their goodbyes._

_As they did so, torment and indecision seemed to flash in Jackie's eyes. Finally, she spoke up. "Steven?" she asked. There was silence for a moment. "Do you love me?"_

_That question again. He wanted, so badly, to tell her yes, to tell her of course, and kiss her. Because he did love her. Very much._

_But he heard Jake in his head, saw the image of her with someone else. He was listening to Jake, and he couldn't just quit now. He couldn't lose her._

"_What do we know of love?" he asked. "Are humans even capable of love?"_

_He knew it was the wrong answer. Instead of tearing up, Jackie's eyes iced over. "You know what, Steven? I don't actually think you are. I know a lot of other people that are, but you just don't. You just don't seem capable of loving someone."_

_She walked away, the click-clack of her heels carrying her further and further away from him._

_In trying so hard not to lose her, he had pushed himself far enough away from her to lose her that way._

_For days and days, she avoided him. Then she came back to the basement, not speaking to him, ignoring his presence completely. It was no worse than he deserved._

_But then came the day…_

_He went back to the mall, intent on buying that bracelet and giving it to Jackie anyway. She deserved it, and as much as she hated him at that moment, she would never refuse it._

_He stopped in his tracks at what he saw, wandering around, a smoothie in hand, laughing and talking. Jackie's arm wrapped around someone else, some other guy._

_He stopped, frozen, and they turned around and looked at him. She said nothing, he said nothing, but there was a hard look in her eyes as she turned around and walked away from him, her arm still wrapped around the other guy._

"_Jackie?"_

"_No."_

"_Jackie?"_

"_No! Steven, stay away from me!" she said. "I don't want to talk to you!" she yelled at him._

"_Jackie, listen-"_

"_No, you listen to me!" she yelled at him. She jumped off her bed. "You hurt me," she said. "For the past month, everything you've done, everything you've said was to hurt me. You tried- don't lie, I know you did. And now you get jealous just because I'm with someone else? It doesn't work like that, Steven!" She was shouting, and she was furious._

_He gave her a hard look. "You don't know why I did what I did," he said._

"_Sure I do!" Jackie said. "You wanted to hurt me? Well-" She laughed bitterly. "Good job," she said. "It worked."_

"_No," he said. "I had this friend Jake, and he-"_

"_Steven, I don't want to listen to some stupid story," she said._

"_Would you just be quiet? I have to say this!" he said. She sat, silent. "My friend Jake he was telling me all about his girlfriend, and how she broke up with him because he told her that he loved her and that she was so great and because he bought her presents and stuff." He took a deep breath. "And he was talking, and he was telling me, he said not to do what he did. Not to say or do or be what you wanted, because then you would leave." He paused. "Everything I did, everything I said, it was because I couldn't stand to lose you," he said. "But I did anyway."_

_He looked up at her, and his heart leaped when he saw that she was smiling at him._

"_You were really trying to keep me?" she asked. "You were afraid of losing me?"_

_He nodded._

"_Oh, Steven!" she said, throwing her arms around his neck. "That's so sweet!" She looked at him seriously. "But if you ever do that again, you are so dead."_

_They both laughed, and kissed._

"_Here," said Hyde, pulling out a rectangular box from his coat box._

"_Oh, Steven, this bracelet is gorgeous!" she said. She frowned. "But it's not a bribe, is it?" she asked. "To get back together?"_

"_No," he said. "This was your Valentine's present. You deserve it."_

_She beamed at him. "Steven, I love it!" she squealed, and she kissed him again._

_After a few moments, she pulled away. "Wait, Steven, your friend Jake, what was his last name?" she asked._

"_Lewis," Hyde replied, confused._

"_Was his girlfriend's name Sarah?" she asked._

_Hyde nodded, confused. "Yeah. How'd you know that?"_

"_Ugh, poor Jake!" she exclaimed._

"_What?" asked Hyde._

"_That girl has had a steady boyfriend for four years," said Jackie._

"_Okay?" said Hyde._

"_And has had other boyfriends at the same time," said Jackie. "Poor Jake was just another one of her secondary boyfriends."_

"_So, it wasn't all of the stuff that he did that made her leave him?" he asked._

"_No, no!" said Jackie. "It's just her, being her. You should tell Jake that, before another girl gets hurt." She pouted._

"_I will," he said. "And I'll make it up to you," he said._

_She grinned. "I'll hold you to that."_

_And they were kissing again._


End file.
